The Belgian Gaming Commission has weighed in a video game loot boxes calling their purchase and trading a game of chance.
The ruling applies to three specific games—Overwatch, FIFA 18 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
Loot boxes are in-game caches of items used in the games. Since the items in the boxes are undisclosed when they are purchased—for real money—and players value some in-game items more than others, critics have argued that their buying and trading them is a form of gambling.
Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens said loot boxes in Overwatch, FIFA 18, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive meet the criteria for the country’s “game of chance” definition.
“There is a game element where a bet can lead to profit or loss and chance has a role in the game,” he said in a press statement.
The commission also examined the game Star Wars: Battlefront II, which has been at the forefront of the controversy over loot boxes. However, game maker EA suspended the use of the loot boxes temporarily.
The commission expressed concern over games that draw in players with an “emotional profit forecast” of randomized goods, where players “buy an advantage with real money without knowing what benefit it would be.” The commission also criticized the games for not identifying the odds of receiving a more valued item.
Geens said the three games must remove their loot boxes or be in criminal violation of the country’s gaming legislation. Violations could carry penalties of up to €800,000 and five years in prison, which can be doubled if “minors are involved.”
Geens, however, said he wants to start a “dialogue” with loot box providers to “see who should take responsibility where.”
Belgium’s decision follows a similar finding in the Netherlands, which specifically called out loot boxes in FIFA 18, Dota 2, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Rocket League for illegal gambling activities.
