Lost Ark is a huge hit in Germany and Europe, but two countries are not allowed to play. The new MMORPG is banned there due to the prevailing laws. We at MeinMMO asked the well-known lawyer Christian Solmecke if such a ban could also threaten Germany.
What is happening in Lost Ark?
- On February 11, the new Lost Ark officially launched in Europe and quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of players. After just a few days, it was the biggest game in the world on Steam.
- However, not every European is allowed to play. In 2 neighboring countries of Germany, Lost Ark is banned: in Belgium and the Netherlands.
- We asked lawyer Christian Solmecke if he could explain the situation from a legal perspective and received an immediate response.
Who is the lawyer? Christian Solmecke is a specialist in internet and media law and works as a lawyer and partner at the Cologne law firm Wilde Beuger Solmecke, or WBS. Previously, he worked as a journalist, among others, at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. His portfolio also includes:
- several books on online law
- the founding of numerous IT startups
- Solmecke is also the managing director of the German Institute for Communication and Law in the Internet (“DIKRI”) as well as the cloud-based law firm software Legalvisio.de.
Solmecke also quickly became known with his YouTube channel as the “Internet lawyer”. He often addresses current topics in the field of internet and gaming and answers questions in his videos. We were also able to ask him some questions on the subject.
Loot boxes in a “legal gray area”
MeinMMO: How does the legal situation in Belgium/the Netherlands regarding gambling differ from that in Germany?
Solmecke: The Belgians and Dutch are a bit further along than we are. There, game elements such as loot boxes are considered gambling. Here, we are still having a great discussion about it. Gambling is only legal in the Netherlands if a corresponding license has been granted. Without a license, no gambling and thus no game. The bans are therefore justified.
If we were to also classify loot boxes and the like as gambling in Germany, it would follow that without a license, the games in their current form would also be banned.
MeinMMO: Is it possible that Lost Ark (and other games) could also fall under the gambling law in Germany?
Solmecke: That would at least be theoretically possible, yes. Unlike in the Benelux countries, however, the gaming discussion about gambling in Germany is still not conclusively resolved. Game manufacturers are therefore still operating in a legal gray area. It strongly depends on the respective design.
The difficult question always is: When is something already gambling and when is it just a legal in-game purchase? So far, there have been no known judgments against game manufacturers in Germany for providing, for example, loot boxes. The authorities have also held back so far, which is why I would rate a ban as rather unlikely. However, game manufacturers should not rely on that.
MeinMMO: Why is it hitting Lost Ark and not other well-known games like League of Legends?
Solmecke: Lost Ark is not the first game affected by the ban. In Belgium, for example, FIFA with its packs was banned by the Belgian Gaming Commission. In the Netherlands, a ruling against FIFA packs was also made over a year ago. In the case of League of Legends, the assessment seems to have turned out differently and a gambling ban was apparently not recognized.
MeinMMO: How would Amazon need to change its shop policy to be allowed in the respective countries?
Solmecke: There is a simple answer to this: To be able to legally distribute the game, the gambling factor would have to be toned down or completely removed. I do not see any other option at the moment.
What’s next for Lost Ark?
Currently, it does not look like Lost Ark will be banned in Germany. The MMORPG also has big ambitions and is growing – even in its home country Korea.
Since Lost Ark has been running in Korea and Russia for years, the game already has more content than is playable in Germany. As this content is gradually imported, the MMORPG will become even bigger.
This also allows us to predict what else will be released – even if we cannot say when that will happen. However, we can already tell you about the next classes that will become playable in the near future:
In Lost Ark, 7 more classes are coming our way in the coming months – here’s what they can do
