The topic of dispute Loot boxes is one of the biggest controversies in the gaming industry. In some countries, such as Belgium, they are classified as gambling and are therefore prohibited. In the United Kingdom, the randomly generated content is also considered gambling, but it is still allowed. The so-called “Fifa-Packs” from the sports game Fifa. EA in particular has vehemently defended the loot box mechanics for years. But that could change now, in Austria exactly these packs were called illegal gambling classified. But what does that mean?
Loot boxes are illegal gambling
This is the verdict of a court in the small Austrian municipality of Carinthia. A trial against him began there in October last year console manufacturer Sony, after a 17-year-old almost 400 euros for FIFA points spent how games economy reported. The indictment accused the group of violating the gambling monopoly and spoke of usurybecause the limited freedom of choice of customers is exploited.
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The district court of Hermagor agreed with the plaintiff and described the loot boxes in Fifa as illegal gambling. Sony is now obliged to fully refund the 338.26 euros invested. The court clarifies FIFA Ultimate Team-Packs are “licensable games of chance”. The verdict is at this time not yet legally binding, because Sony has the opportunity to appeal. Due to the fact that the Purchase Agreements on PlayStation Store were closed, the console manufacturer was sued directly and not, as might be expected, the manufacturer Electronic Arts.
The secondary market is particularly problematic
According to the Austrian court, the result of the content of the purchased FIFA packs depends on chance and therefore represents a “financial benefit within the meaning of the Austrian Gaming Act”, which is due to the fact that the purchased content can be traded on a secondary market and that it is possible to make a profit.
The managing director of the litigation funder PadronusRichard Eibl, finds clear words for the decision: “The judgment is a bang for the entire video game industry. Neither in Austria nor in Germany has there been case law on the question of the legality of loot boxes and the reclaimability of payments made.[…] The court agreed with us and explained plausibly why this is the case with FIFA packs. When it comes to the staging of the loot box purchase process, Sony is also strongly oriented towards conventional games of chance.”
Neither Sony nor Electronic Arts have commented on the verdict at this time.
Possible wave of lawsuits coming
At the moment one four-digit number reported to FIFA users at Padronus. The claims are on average around 800 euros. In one particular case it is even about Losses of 85,000 euros. Should the judgment actually become final or be confirmed in a higher instance, it could be very expensive for Sony.
Those: games economy
