Belgium Declares Loot Boxes Illegal, Even Those Like In Overwatch

Microtransactions that involved cosmetic items such as those in Overwatch are often considered by those who defend the concept of loot boxes as the gold standard for other developers and publishers to follow. It seems Belgium doesn’t agree with this sentiment at all and has declared that all loot boxes, even those in games like Overwatch are gambling, and are thus illegal.

In a statement, Belgium’s minister of justice, Koen Greens said that loot boxes violate the nation’s legislation pertaining to gaming. As a result, the companies that are selling said loot boxes are actually committing a criminal offense. On top of the fines that offending publishers would need to pay, which is about 800,000 euros ($974,605), they could even face prison time.

This conclusion was not made lightly either as it only came about after the country’s Gaming Commission spent months looking into the matter of loot boxes and whether or not they constitute gambling. Among the factors that the investigators took into consideration is how much has been spent on the market and what the spending habits are like.

Suffice it to say, the results did not work in the video game industry’s favor. So now, the loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA 18, and Overwatch are considered illegal and criminally offensive.

In response to the decision, an EA spokesperson sent an email to Kotaku to explain what the company’s position is on loot boxes. Predictably enough, they don’t see anything wrong with it.

“The Belgian Gaming Commission has not contacted us or shared its report,” the email reads. “We strongly believe that our games are developed and implemented ethically and lawfully around the world, and take these responsibilities very seriously. We care deeply that our players are having a fun and fair experience in all of our games, and take great care to ensure each game is marketed responsibly, including in compliance with regional ratings standards. We would welcome the dialogue with Minister Geens on these topics, as we do not agree that our games can be considered as any form of gambling.”