The situation regarding loot boxes in Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront 2 has now prompted the Belgian authorities to take action.
The Gaming Commission in Belgium, led by Director General Peter Naessens, is investigating whether the purchase of loot boxes constitutes gambling. After all, you don’t know what’s in the box that you buy.
This is especially problematic when a game targets children and adolescents in its marketing – and that is exactly what Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront 2 do.
Loot boxes are said to be harmful to children
Peter Naessens believes that such loot boxes have a harmful effect on children and adolescents because they exert a certain social pressure to feel the need to buy them in order to keep up in the game. Should it turn out that loot boxes are to be regarded as gambling, then a license for game developers and publishers will be necessary to distribute the games in Belgium.
Moreover, it is quite possible that fines could be imposed that can amount to several hundred thousand euros. Similarly, the games could be removed from circulation. If loot boxes are thus considered gambling in Belgium, this could set a precedent that affects all publishers and developers who would need to reconsider the loot box mechanics in the future.
Overwatch more affected than Star Wars Battlefront 2
Overwatch would be even more affected than Star Wars Battlefront 2 because Blizzard’s online shooter has been on the market significantly longer, and any potential fine for Blizzard could therefore be higher than for EA. In China, this has already had repercussions, as loot boxes there are classified as gambling.
There, a loophole had to be found. In China, you no longer purchase loot boxes directly in games; instead, you receive them as a “gift” when purchasing in-game currency.
When a decision will be made regarding loot boxes in Belgium is currently still undecided.
If loot boxes are classified as gambling in Belgium and Blizzard is punished more severely than EA, then the developer of Overwatch might find it hard to laugh.
