The Struggle Of Belgian Gamers And Loot Boxes

So what is the backstory to this. In 2018 the Belgian gambling commission declared loot boxes illegal in Belgium. The judgement was made with the idea that spending money for a random reward that holds a value encourages minors to gamble and could get them settled with a gambling addiction.

The judgement only applies to purchasing loot boxes with money, not to acquiring them in game. A Solution could be adding a authorization layer to be sure that you're dealing with an adult. But, with Belgium being a relative small country many developers just completely erased them from their game as it saves them the hassles of the "what ifs". And understandably so.

While I can sympathies with the idea, the ruling is too harsh in my opinion. People with busy schedules during the day often don't mind spending some money on a game if that causes that they can at least be competitive or get that skin which they would never have the time to grind for. Further people that stand against this judgement often refer to the "Pokemon booster" resemblance.

The Pokemon booster theory is like this: When you purchase Pokemon, magic, Yu-Gi-Oh or any other card game boosters you don't know what is inside either. What your purchase will hold a value but will more often than not not cover the purchase price. As such gamers consider these 100% the same, yet people of all ages can easily buy them and no one makes any fuzz about it. Gamers do have a point that the Belgian gambling commission is maintaining double standars.

What this means for the future of loot boxes on a global basis is still unclear. Yet, Europeans that like to purchase Loot boxes now and than should be worried. As gambling regulators all over Europe have acknowledged interest in the matter.

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