Electronic Arts being investigated in Belgium over loot boxes

Electronic Arts (EA), the massive video game publisher, is running into trouble in Belgium. Belgian authorities are reportedly considering prosecuting the company over its decision not to prohibit loot box transactions from one of its most popular games, FIFA 18. Belgium outlawed loot boxes this past April, claiming that they are a form of gambling.

In the game, players are able to purchase the loot boxes through in-game coins or real fiat. The loot boxes offer a randomized chance to win soccer players or soccer items that can help the players advance through the game and build the best possible team. According to Belgian regulators, the loot box system “constitutes a game of chance in the sense of the Gaming and Betting Act.”

The commission recommended that video game publishers should provide age verification procedures in order to protect children, as well as spending limits. It also said that the odds of winning need to be clearly displayed and labels affixed to the game’s packaging to indicate that it contains gambling.

Those who didn’t comply with the recommendations, asserted the commission, should be held accountable and be prosecuted. It did not, however, indicate a specific deadline for the modifications to be complete.