Banned in Belgium due to gambling mechanism

lost ark is one of several games released in the past decade to receive positive reviews despite being banned in some countries due to potentially malicious in-game mechanics. , which received favorable reviews.

in particular, lost ark In-game loot boxes are now available Conflicting established online gambling laws In countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands. These countries have strict anti-gambling laws, forcing game creators to either adapt their games or abandon their markets altogether.

Although the Dutch ban was eventually lifted, lost ark He was released after just a few months, but details are unknown. why The ban has been lifted – if the match itself had been rescheduled, the Belgian ban would not have applied yet.

Regulatory Situation in Belgium – Decoding Gambling Laws in Video Games

In 2018, Belgium declared that in-game loot boxes: Gambling and Betting Act 1999.

Belgian Gaming Commission in a nutshell watched 4 different games Includes purchasable loot boxes (overwatch, Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA18and Counter-Strike: Global Offense) We investigated whether these mechanisms violate gambling laws and found that they do.

The main factors they looked at when making this assessment were:

• Is opening a loot box even remotely similar to a player (in this case, a video game developer) playing against the “house”?
• Whether players can “lose” when playing this game (some random items have more utility or value than others, so getting a lower value item is considered a loss) There is a possibility)
• And whether there is an element of unknown chance (which the core mechanic loot boxes are built on).

During a review in 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission found that loot boxes indeed met all standards and were subject to regulation. Developers and players alike had mixed feelings, as the novelty of including them in the game has become a selling point for many players.

The novelty and controversy behind in-game loot boxes

Not that long ago, The gaming industry has undergone a massive paradigm shift With the introduction of loot boxes. It was originally introduced maple story (Another fantasy online role-playing game) Loot boxes quickly became popular in 2004 as a way to improve the player experience and monetize what was once a free-to-play game, putting them at the center of two heated games. changed from an innocuous addition to. -Decades of controversy.

The promise of randomized rewards proved to be too heavy for players to resist, and in turn, too heavy for developers to resist, with most game companies finding new ways to generate revenue post-release. I’m trying to find out.

Many players found themselves unable to stopare keen to acquire rare or coveted crypto assets and contribute more of their hard-earned money to what is effectively a digital lottery.

However, the novelty quickly wore off, and the ethical implications of loot box mechanics began to be questioned, especially as more developers sequestered endgame progression behind essentially randomized paywalls. .

Critics argued that the randomized nature of these containers closely resembled gambling games, especially when large amounts of real money were involved.

These objections gained weight as stories about individuals came to light. including young children — spending exorbitant amounts of money on loot boxes in search of rare items and power-ups, similar to the risks associated with traditional gambling.

How we lost to Belgium lost ark and other games violate Belgian regulations

While the team is behind lost ark We have decided not to obtain the appropriate licenses or make any in-game adjustments necessary to comply with Belgian regulations, and have chosen not to release it in any form on the Belgian market. There are many other games that have rebuilt their systems to comply.

For example, Blizzard Entertainment’s popular competitive shooter overwatchcould continue Marketing itself in Belgium This follows the Gaming Commission’s decision to disable the ability to purchase loot boxes for players with Belgian IP addresses.

There are still Loot Boxes available by completing in-game milestones, but players can no longer spend money to purchase additional Loot Boxes. Since only the cosmetics were packed anyway, Belgian players were able to remain as competitive as other players. other players.

Other games like Electronic Arts Star Wars Battlefront II, There was so much backlash from the Belgian Gambling Commission and players that it was temporarily Disable in-game purchases completely.

This, coupled with an unpopular comment from one of the community managers on Reddit, caused a PR nightmare for Electronic Arts (a development company already known for its excessive use of microtransactions), and ultimately We ended up rebuilding the progression system from scratch.

Loot box ban and its impact on the gaming industry

It remains to be seen whether a nationwide ban on hidden gambling mechanisms like loot boxes will have a lasting impact on the video game industry.

The intensity of opposition from customers and regulators has led some developers to move away from paid loot box mechanics altogether, while others are increasingly pushing them to give players a competitive edge. We promised to only offer cosmetic items to avoid encouraging you to spend money — a common problem in the mobile gaming industry.

Even if the loot boxes were completely removed. Some critics fear the next stage of monetization will be even worse. — We’re already seeing the beginnings of that in paid subscription-style Battle Passes and similar mechanics that reward you with random rewards as you reach milestones in-game.

As games move from one-time software to something more like an ongoing service, developers are looking for ways to extract money from long-term players.

An international approach to video game gambling regulation

Belgium’s strict “no loot boxes” stance has certainly caused some ripples in the industry, but despite Questions about its effectiveness —Other countries are slow to raise their flags or reluctant to draw the line at all.

In one example, Australia It does not prohibit the inclusion of gambling in video games, but instead need The game is intended for people 18 years or older.

This does not prevent parents from purchasing these games for their children, nor does it prevent children from using their parents’ credit cards to make in-game purchases. Instead, it aims to make it clear what parents should expect in games, allowing parents to take a more active role in the media their children consume, providing a guiding hand along the way, and perhaps addressing issues. We hope to detect certain gaming activities early.

JapanMeanwhile, it has banned what is known as “gacha” monetization. This locks game progression behind random paid rewards, such as not being able to progress through the game’s story without a specific set of equipment that can be obtained piecemeal through loot. box.

in China, All developers must list all loot box rewards and outline the probability of them being dropped. This is done to help players make more informed purchasing decisions. The country has also enacted laws that limit the number of loot boxes that can be purchased in an effort to curb problematic behavior.

The future of loot boxes remains uncertain

Should Belgium ban it? lost ark The cause of the game’s decline in popularity is unknown, but the gaming landscape is changing with more countries actively speaking out against the inclusion of obfuscated slot machine equivalents in video games. We are already seeing the changes coming.

Similarly, the long-term effects of loot boxes are yet to be determined. The severity of the situation remains unclear. But more problematic adult behavior can be traced back to childhood hobbies such as gaming, so features like loot boxes are likely to gain traction in many countries.

But until such time comes, we must do our best to educate ourselves and our children that all purchases are made responsibly and that we don’t spend more than we can bet. It won’t.