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This past week, Belgium's Gaming Commission said that they launched an investigation into whether or not loot boxes are considered a form of gambling. Today, it is being reported that they have indeed ruled that loot boxes are gambling.PC Gamer has a rough translation of the ruling courtesy of Google translate.
The Google translation is a little sloppy, as usual, but the message is clear enough. "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," the Gaming Commission declared. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens also weighed in, saying, "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child."
Geens, according to the report, wants to ban in-game purchases outright (correction: if you don't know exactly what you're purchasing), and not just in Belgium: He said the process will take time, "because we have to go to Europe. We will certainly try to ban it."
Geens, according to the report, wants to ban in-game purchases outright (correction: if you don't know exactly what you're purchasing), and not just in Belgium: He said the process will take time, "because we have to go to Europe. We will certainly try to ban it."
It's gambling, and it's an uncontrolled lure to vulnerable people, it's the most disgusting thing in video games next to publishers shuttering good studios and it needs to go, i don't see a way for them to exist without it being a problem.
Small update, apparently they haven't actually decided that loot boxes are gambling, the investigation is still under way.