Belgian investigates EA "not gambling" claim

[NumLock21]

The Belgians authorities has opened a investigation on EA for their Star Wars BattleFront II game, claim where loot boxes are not gaming.

No, this gambling problem is different because Electronic Arts are the ones being investigated. EA is being investigated as the company illegally facilitating gambling. Yesterday it was revealed that Belgian authorities are investigating Star Wars Battlefront II to determine if the loot boxes within the game constitute as gambling. 

 

https://wccftech.com/ea-claim-star-wars-battlefront-ii-not-gambling/

 

[DocSwag]

To think that most of this basically started from a single reddit comment...

[WereCat]

 

This will be interesting.

[ARikozuM]

I don't mind the loot box systems of Overwatch and Rocket League since you know what is available in the boxes themselves (feel free to correct me on Overwatch), but EA is likely to add rewards and decrease overall probability rather than make separate boxes for rewards that are wanted. 

 

Note: I have no intention of playing Battlefront, but this was the case with BF4 and Hardline, though I think the bigger sin for these games is ...

Spoiler

their terrible campaigns. 

 

[Delicieuxz]

These loot systems that incentivise a person to pay are absolutely gambling, and I think the previous investigation being blown off was a big mistake, with fallacious reasoning behind it. From what I heard, the argument was that because the received in-game items cannot be traded for real-world things, that it doesn't constitute gambling. However, I think that gambling has nothing to do with what you can do with the proceeds, but is the situation of offering an uncertain reward in exchange of repeatedly offering real money to continue trying to get something desirable. The gambling is the action of putting up money for the chance at a win / lose situation. Nothing to do with being able to spend the rewards on physical-world items.

 

If people want to see an end to these uber-monetized and microtransactioned loot-box system games, then they should be hoping that these systems become regarded in law as gambling, and prohibited from products marketed towards minors. Because that's the way that people are going to stop seeing games designed around the concept of milking people for as much money as possible, through the incentive of gambling for possible better in-game items.

[DocSwag]

1 hour ago, ARikozuM said:

I don't mind the loot box systems of Overwatch and Rocket League since you know what is available in the boxes themselves (feel free to correct me on Overwatch), but EA is likely to add rewards and decrease overall probability rather than make separate boxes for rewards that are wanted. 

 

Note: I have no intention of playing Battlefront, but this was the case with BF4 and Hardline, though I think the bigger sin for these games is ...

  Reveal hidden contents

their terrible campaigns. 

 

IMO the main thing I have a problem with is that these loot boxes can help you a lot from a player standpoint. Some star cards (there's one that improves aim assist!) are absolutely ridiculous and shouldn't be put behind loot boxes.

 

I'm fine with games where the lootbox element is just to lock away cosmetics and maybe some weapons (but only weapons that don't make you a better player, only ones that give another element to the game. For example, TF2 has lots of weapons you need to unlock, but they aren't necessarily better, only different). But EA is making it so that you can literally pay money to be better, and considering this game already costs $60 I don't like that.

[Carclis]

Finally someone with common sense. Authorities have been slow to catch on to the exploitation of poorly worded gambling laws. Hopefully we'll see the end of this loot box nonsense (for gameplay affecting items) or be given the option to purchase what we specifically want instead ie the system in League of Legends where you may purchase whatever skin you like or simply a random one if you have more money than sense.

[samcool55]

7 hours ago, DocSwag said:

To think that most of this basically started from a single reddit comment...

Yeah it's crazy, even belgian news sites reported about it with comment from the Kansspeelcommissie (don't know the exact translation) but basically the part of Belgium that keeps an eye on gambling. (dude is called  Peter Naessens, maybe you can google him and find an english source explaining what he does, i dunno)

Source: https://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/onderzoek-naar-nieuw-star-wars-spel

(in dutch, because belgium..., google translate is your friend)

 

They say it's gambling because chances decide how good you will be able to play and due to social pressure people might be forced into spending more money. The fact it's aimed at kids is also a bad thing.

 

I don't watch the news on TV but i won't be surprised if it did appear on there during the last few days.

 

edit: damn, they even reported the new update that EA is taking the microtransactions out of it for now and added a video report and everything.

 

Seems like they are making a big deal of this in Belgium, but then again we are so bored and have so little to worry about we basically need things like this to be able to do something at least... (we even had discussions a few years ago about what the minimum about of fat needs to be in mayonnaise, it came multiple times in the news and everything...)

https://nieuws.vtm.be/cultuur-media/nieuw-star-wars-spel-aangepast-na-kritiek

(again, dutch...)

[Matu20]

By definition, it is definitely gambling. No way of speaking around it.

[NumLock21]

13 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

Spoiler

 

These loot systems that incentivise a person to pay are absolutely gambling, and I think the previous investigation being blown off was a big mistake, with fallacious reasoning behind it. From what I heard, the argument was that because the received in-game items cannot be traded for real-world things, that it doesn't constitute gambling. However, I think that gambling has nothing to do with what you can do with the proceeds, but is the situation of offering an uncertain reward in exchange of repeatedly offering real money to continue trying to get something desirable. The gambling is the action of putting up money for the chance at a win / lose situation. Nothing to do with being able to spend the rewards on physical-world items.

 

If people want to see an end to these uber-monetized and microtransactioned loot-box system games, then they should be hoping that these systems become regarded in law as gambling, and prohibited from products marketed towards minors. Because that's the way that people are going to stop seeing games designed around the concept of milking people for as much money as possible, through the incentive of gambling for possible better in-game items.

 

 

The stupid UK, who blew it off as not gambling.

[Bouzoo]

It's not only Belgium, Sweden and Netherlands have joined. 

[suicidalfranco]

I hope they label them as gambling, if not simply because you always get something out of a lootbox then what would hold back casino from simply giving out drinks and smoke to everyone after a game? Would blackjack stop counting as a gamble game if no matter how much you lost on that round they dealer just says "hey at least you got another cocktail!"