Belgium defines video game loot boxes as illegal gambling

[Mave]

Belgium defines video game loot boxes as illegal gambling

The Belgian Gaming Commission has ruled after a preliminary investigation that loot boxes in several games — Overwatch, FIFA 18, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive — are considered games of chance that are subject to Belgian gaming law, via Ars Technica.

According to a statement from Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens, the games currently constitute criminal violations of Belgium’s gaming legislation, and developers could be subject to prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to 800,000 euros if the loot boxes aren’t removed. Per Justice Geens’ statement, the commission used four parameters to determine whether or not loot boxes in a game were considered a game of chance: if there was a game element that allowed bets to be placed, with a possible profit or loss, where chance played a roll in the result.

Source and more: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/25/17280440/belgium-video-game-loot-boxes-illegal-gambling

 

[Stybar]

While I agree on the fact that it is indeed gambling, the feeling I get is that they're really gunning for Overwatch, which has purely cosmetic lootboxes. It is far less egregious than Battlefront II had, where you had to buy lootboxes to actually progress in multiplayer.
And this scares me a bit, because this makes it seem to me, that those laws will be made by people who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and that the game industry will just go "fuck it, bye bye Belgian market", as everything becomes illegal.

It's also kinda funny that this whole debacle came to light with Battlefront II's P2W lootbox system, but by the time the Belgian commision finally managed to make some sort of statement, the system has been removed from the game, and it's no longer a target, while other, less offensive games, are.

 

[Mave]

While I agree on the fact that it is indeed gambling, the feeling I get is that they're really gunning for Overwatch, which has purely cosmetic lootboxes. It is far less egregious than Battlefront II had, where you had to buy lootboxes to actually progress in multiplayer.
And this scares me a bit, because this makes it seem to me, that those laws will be made by people who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and that the game industry will just go "fuck it, bye bye Belgian market", as everything becomes illegal.

It's also kinda funny that this whole debacle came to light with Battlefront II's P2W lootbox system, but by the time the Belgian commision finally managed to make some sort of statement, the system has been removed from the game, and it's no longer a target, while other, less offensive games, are.

You know why Belgium was so eager to implement this law? Because now they can tax it. Thank the Belgian gambling commission.

 

[Stybar]

While I agree on the fact that it is indeed gambling, the feeling I get is that they're really gunning for Overwatch, which has purely cosmetic lootboxes. It is far less egregious than Battlefront II had, where you had to buy lootboxes to actually progress in multiplayer.
And this scares me a bit, because this makes it seem to me, that those laws will be made by people who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and that the game industry will just go "fuck it, bye bye Belgian market", as everything becomes illegal.

It's also kinda funny that this whole debacle came to light with Battlefront II's P2W lootbox system, but by the time the Belgian commision finally managed to make some sort of statement, the system has been removed from the game, and it's no longer a target, while other, less offensive games, are.

You know why Belgium was so eager to implement this law? Because now they can tax it. Thank the Belgian gambling commission.

The Belgian government, taxing something they know absolutely nothing about? Where ever did you get that idea...