Last week, Belgium's Gaming Commission announced that it had launched an investigation into whether the loot boxes available for purchase in games like Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront 2 constitute a form of gambling. Today, VTM News reported that the ruling is in, and the answer is yes.
The Google translation is a little sloppy, as usual, but the message is clear enough. "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," the Gaming Commission declared. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens also weighed in, saying, "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child."
Geens, according to the report, wants to ban in-game purchases outright (correction: if you don't know exactly what you're purchasing), and not just in Belgium: He said the process will take time, "because we have to go to Europe. We will certainly try to ban it."
And now, things will start to get interesting. I've reached out to the Gaming Commission for more information, and will update if I receive a reply.
H_O_T_S_H_O_T on November 21st, 2017 at 23:43 UTC »
I'm Dutch and this is my translation of the article they used (sorry for the terrible formatting I'm on my phone):
The minister of Justice wants to ban in-game purchases, if you don't know exactly what it will contain. "Combining gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child.
The commotion started last week with the new game Star Wars: Battlefront in the the game you could buy so called "loot boxes", virtual boxes which could contain advantages for the game. You don't know however what it contains beforehand.
"The combination of money and addiction is gambling", ruled the gambling committee. VTM News brought the news and a few days later EA withdrew the function from the game, partially because Disney complained, which has the rights to the Star Wars merchandise.
Geens now wants to prevent that these kinds of funtions will be in any games going forward. "But that takes time, because we have to go to Europe. We will definitely try to ban it."
greennick on November 21st, 2017 at 23:41 UTC »
I imagine this will be popular in the gaming community, not in the EA boardroom though.
ThomasIsAtWork on November 21st, 2017 at 23:38 UTC »
It begins