Representatives from six political parties in the Netherlands have tabled a motion calling for stricter regulation of loot boxes in video games and possibly even an outright ban. The proposal describes the loot boxes as “addictive” and says they are a form of gambling designed to manipulate children into spending money.
The motion comes months after a Dutch appeals court overturned a €10 million (US$11 million) fine imposed on Electronic Arts for FIFA Ultimate Team kits. The Dutch Gaming Authority imposed a fine in 2019 after EA refused to modify FUT loot boxes to comply with the country’s gaming laws; EA appealed the decision and ultimately won the case.
This case seems to have prompted this motion, at least in part: it doesn’t specifically mention Electronic Arts or FIFA, but notes that the Dutch Gaming Authority had previously tried to regulate loot boxes, but the Council of State ruled against it. Therefore, given that, by legal definition, loot boxes are not games of chance and therefore fall outside the purview of the Gaming Authority, the intention of the proposal is to “amend the law ” when necessary to enable loot box bans.
The proposal makes no claims, saying loot boxes are “addictive and can burden families with unexpected bills…with devastating consequences.” He also points out that consumer associations in 18 European countries are also pushing for effective regulation of loot boxes, noting that Belgium has already banned them outright.
Its exact legal status is less clearly defined in the Netherlands. The FUT Pack decision in EA’s favor apparently gave loot boxes the green light, however, Blizzard recently pulled out of Diablo Immortal’s free-to-play release in the Netherlands due to “current operating conditions” in the country. It’s entirely possible that Blizzard anticipated such a backlash and decided that it simply didn’t need to make things worse by releasing Diablo Immortal and then modifying or removing it a year later.
While it is not certain that this will lead to an outright ban on loot boxes, it is very likely that this proposal will be adopted. It is backed by all six political parties in the country: the Christian Democratic Appeal, the Christian Union, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the Socialist Party, the Democrats 66 and the Green Left, whose members collectively represent 94 of the 150 seats. of the camera. of Representatives and 44 of the 75 seats in the Senate.
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Source: IXBT
