UK Stands With EA Determines Lootboxes Aren't Gambling
The UK government has weighed in on the issue of loot boxes being considered illegal gambling. This is after a number of governments proposed to regulate or outright ban games that use such systems under the pretext that they violate gambling laws.
In a recent statement released by the UK Gambling Commission, loot boxes do not fit the bill for "licensable gambling activity" due to the fact that the prizes are usable only in the games in which they're won and cannot be cashed-out.
"A key factor in deciding if that line has been crossed is whether in-game items acquired 'via a game of chance' can be considered money or money's worth," states the commission. "In practical terms, this means that where in-game items obtained via loot boxes are confined for use within the game and cannot be cashed out it is unlikely to be caught as a licensable gambling activity. In those cases, our legal powers would not allow us to step in."
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However, while they do not consider loot boxes gambling under British law, the commission still expressed concern over the practice of games. While the line between video gaming and gambling is becoming increasingly blurred, the commission says they have a responsibility to keep children and young people safe from any potential harm brought by these practices.
The whole controversy began when Hawaii state lawmakers Chris Lee and Sean Quinlan assailed loot crates as preying on children, naming EA's "Star Wars Battlefront 2" specifically. This was followed by Belgium's Gaming Commission opening an investigation on the matter and signaling their desire to go to the EU in order to seek action against video games that use such practices.
EA has since removed its microtransaction system from "Star Wars Battlefront 2" prevents players from spending real money in-game. However, EA is not the only publisher that relies on the model as games like "Overwatch," "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," and "Dota 2" use variations of the loot box system as a source of revenue.
