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Continue reading “Dutch Court: EA Didn’t Violate Gambling Law”
Tag: gambling
China Slows Down Game Approval
Bless Unleashed Boots Belgian, Dutch Players
UK Reverses Course On Gambling Thanks To EA’s Tone Deaf Argument
Who would have guessed that Electronic Arts worst enemy would be itself? Outside of everyone with a shred of common sense and human decency I can hear you saying, and I get it.
The last we heard from the UK in terms of possible loot box regulations, the Gambling Authority stated that loot boxes are not gambling because there is no real money payout system. Not too long afterward the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee had a sit down with some representatives resulting in what might be the most embarrassing statements to ever come out of the mouth of the gaming industry. EA’s Kerry Hopkins stated that FIFA’s Ultimate Team packs were “quite ethical and quite fun” while Epic went even deeper into propaganda territory by stating “I would disagree with the statement that Epic makes money from people playing the games.”
Well following a deluge of public comments on the hearing (never let anyone tell you your complaints don’t matter), the DCMS has published its report on immersive and addictive technologies and they are not happy with how Kerry Hopkins conducted herself. In thanking the number of people who came forward with information, the DCMS took time to admonish the industry for its dishonest and unacceptable conduct:
“In contrast, we were struck by how difficult it was to get full and clear answers from some of the games and social media companies we spoke to and were disappointed by the manner in which some representatives engaged with the inquiry. We felt that some representatives demonstrated a lack of honesty and transparency in acknowledging what data is collected, how it is used and the psychological underpinning of how products are designed, and this made us question what these companies have to hide. It is unacceptable that companies with millions of users, many of them children, should be so ill-equipped to discuss the potential impacts of their products.”
In its conclusion, the DCMS has recommended further action be taken by the government in accordance with the 2005 Gambling Act.
“We consider loot boxes that can be bought with real-world money and do not reveal their contents in advance to be games of chance played for money’s worth. The Government should bring forward regulations under section 6 of the Gambling Act 2005 in the next parliamentary session to specify that loot boxes are a game of chance. If it determines not to regulate loot boxes under the Act at this time, the Government should produce a paper clearly stating the reasons why it does not consider loot boxes paid for with real-world currency to be a game of chance played for money’s worth.”
You can read the rather lengthy report at the UK Parliament website here.
EA’s Loot Boxes Are ‘Quite Ethical,” Says EA
If there’s a company at the forefront of predatory and unethical business conduct in the gaming industry, it has to be Electronic Arts. From the company that brought about the high profile disasters of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem to the wholly panned monetization schemes originally present in Battlefront II, Electronic Arts has become the poster child for various governments looking to put an end to what they perceive as video game publishers coercing children into gambling habits.
But Electronic Arts doesn’t consider what they are selling to be loot boxes, as noted by the VP of legal and government affairs at EA Kerry Hopkins. Speaking to the UK Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports Committee, Hopkins referred to loot boxes as “surprise mechanics” and stated that they are indeed quite ethical. It’s hard not to see this as a company desperately defending its questionable and highly lucrative business practices in the face of increasing threat of government regulation around the world.
Then again, perhaps we don’t need to hear about ethics from the company who patented a method to make subtle adjustments to a game’s difficulty in order to encourage more microtransaction purchases.
Source: PCGamesN
In Response To Gambling Laws, Square Enix Starts Pulling Titles From Belgium
Earlier this year the Belgian government gave a clear warning to game developers: Fall into line with your gambling mechanics or face potential criminal charges including fines and even jail sentences. Over the last seven months, we’ve seen the industry take the threat very seriously (for the most part). Companies like Blizzard and Valve have simply stopped allowing players within Belgium to purchase loot boxes, while Electronic Arts stood its ground and is now facing a criminal investigation.
Companies like Square Enix, meanwhile, are just pulling out of the country entirely. Square announced that at least four of its titles will no longer be accessible from Belgium as of December. Those titles include Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, Mobius Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts Union X, and Dissidia FInal Fantasy Opera Omina. All four games will no longer be accessible in Belgium over the next month, although it isn’t clear if people will be able to circumvent the block with a VPN or if Square Enix will go as far as to disable existing accounts that have been operated from within Belgium.
(Source: GI.biz)
Electronic Arts Gambles On Loot Boxes, Now Under Criminal Investigation
Loot boxes in 2018 are a multi-million dollar business, and Electronic Arts loves loot boxes so much that it is willing to potentially perform criminal acts in order to keep that sweet cash flowing. Such is the case in Belgium, where the Brussel’s public prosecutor’s office has officially opened a criminal investigation into Electronic Arts over allegations that the company is violating the law against gambling.
Earlier this year, Belgium’s Gaming Commission found several games to be in violation of its anti-gambling laws. EA doesn’t agree, and has simply refused to comply with orders to remove the offending purchases.
“We don’t believe that FIFA Ultimate Team or loot boxes are gambling firstly because players always receive a specified number of items in each pack, and secondly we don’t provide or authorize any way to cash out or sell items or virtual currency for real money,” said CEO Andrew Wilson.
(Source: PC Gamer)
Column: Stripped Down For Belgium, A Post-Lootbox Ruling
Rest in peace, Belgium gaming. That’s hyperbole.
This week Belgium declared that lootboxes in the fashion of Counter Strike: GO and Overwatch constitute illegal gambling, threatening their associated developers with monetary fines and jail sentences if they don’t comply. This week and the following weeks will no doubt consist of executives meeting with lawyers in board rooms and asking questions like who would they jail, does a Belgian company have jurisdiction over our digital game, and what is the cheaper alternative between either altering our systems specifically for the local market, or pulling out of it entirely.
It isn’t so hard to imagine developers handling the Belgium market in the same way that they’ve taken care of Germany in regards to depictions of the swastika, or other European countries in regards to explicit content in games like South Park. The cheapest and most obvious answer is that companies will, at least in the short term, completely disable the purchasing of loot boxes, including the ability to purchase said boxes with fake currency purchased with real currency, in Belgium to comply with the law. I’m sure developers are currently looking at ways to generate new revenue streams in Belgium without getting on the bad side of the law, and others are looking at lobbying efforts to have that part of the law nullified completely.
Then again, I’m not a bean counter at any of these companies and have no up to date information on exactly how much money is coming out of Belgium. The latest information I can find is from 2011 estimating 220 million euros and climbing rather quickly. Belgium may be a country of about 11 million people, but approximately half of them were gaming in 2011. Again, this is something that individual developers are going to have to assess going forward. One outcome that is definitely not going to happen would be the games removing loot boxes entire from every market, not just Belgium. There is far too much profit to give up for no good (translation: legally required) reason.
I find it hard to believe that the AAA developers are going to pull out of Belgium entirely, although you will see this from smaller publishers for whom the cost of molding their titles around Belgian law don’t justify the kind of sales they would get in the country. At this juncture, that would still be the nuclear option and one that in my humble and admittedly not backed by hard data opinion, seems like there should be plenty of better options available. In order for wide-spread changes to be had in the industry, a substantial part of the market is going to have to follow Belgium’s lead and enact/enforce similar gambling laws.
One thing we can be assured of is that business will not be as usual. Otherwise I have no opinion on the matter.
Belgium Criminalizes Certain Lootboxes, Sends Threat To Developers
The first answer to any question of “is this legal” is “where?” Belgium has joined the growing list of countries to declare that lootboxes, in some fashion, constitute an illegal form of gambling. The Belgium Gaming Commission determined this week that FIFA 18, Overwatch, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive violate its gambling laws and has demanded that developers remove them with the threat of large fines and remarkably even prison sentences if their demands are not met.
Belgium’s Gaming Commission in its notice specifically directed at the following types of monetization. Please note that the below has been translated into English.
- Emotional profit forecast: uncertainty loot box is linked to profit forecast;
- A player may think that the purchase of a loot box gives an advantage, which is not always the case
- Confusion of fiction and reality: well-known real people promote the most expensive loot boxes;
- Use your own coin system: for a real amount, players can buy in-game coins;
- Apparently infinite methods to deposit money on player accounts;
- Hide from the random generator or at least its opacity.
It does not appear that any explicit timetable has been set for removal of said loot boxes.
(Source: Belgium Gaming Commission)
This Is What A Valve Takedown Notice Looks Like
MMO Fallout 