Belgium Declares Loot Boxes – And Therefore Games Like Overwatch – Illegal
Belgium is just the latest in a string of countries to declare loot box purchases in games to be gambling, and therefore illegal.
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The backlash against loot boxes is finally happening in the form of legislation, as the Belgium Gaming Commission has come to the conclusion that loot boxes constitute gambling and are therefore held to the same regulations and restrictions as games where you bet real money.
An investigation was called for by Koen Geens, who is the Minister of Justice in the current government of Belgium. This investigation found that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA 18, and Overwatch were in violation of gambling laws, especially as they are products that are enjoyed by children.
Star Wars Battlefront II avoided being branded illegal, even though it was the game that was responsible for causing this whole mess, due to the fact that the loot boxes have been removed from the game.
This new ruling means that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA 18, and Overwatch have to remove their loot boxes from the game or risk being fined eight-hundred-thousand euros. Those involved with the game in Belgium will also risk five years of prison time, due to the fact that minors are involved.
The ball is now in the hands of the game developers and publishers. It’s possible that companies like Blizzard will just agree to the ban, rather than risk the massive amounts of profit that they make from loot boxes in other markets. They may see Belgium as a small enough market that the could afford to lose it, rather than rock the boat in the other markets where they make most of their money.
It’s also possible that loot boxes will be removed from these games and their contents will be sold as regular DLC, which is what a lot of fans and pundits have been asking for in other countries. This will essentially create a two-tier system for purchasing DLC in these games, which could cause some players to try and create foreign accounts, in order to play the versions of the games that don’t have loot boxes.
Does this ban represent the beginning of the end for loot boxes in gaming? Only time will tell…
Scott has been writing for The Gamer since it launched in 2017 and also regularly contributes to Screen Rant. He has previously written gaming articles for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz. He has been gaming since the days of the ZX Spectrum, when it used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott thinks Chrono Trigger is the best video game of all time, followed closely by Final Fantasy Tactics and Baldur’s Gate 2. He pretends that sorcerer is his favorite Dungeons & Dragons class in public but he secretly loves bards.
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