Loot boxes, did you say loot boxes?
Networked games have long been known to increase the risk of pathological gaming. But for some years now, a new worrying phenomenon has appeared: video games are incorporating gambling strategies. This development has been made possible by the evolution of the video game business model, the most famous example of which is the tremendous success of the game Fortnite.
Until 2018, players bought for a fixed sum a game that was supposed to give them pleasure, rather as a reader buys a book from which they also expect the pleasure of reading. The so-called “Free to Play” game, that is, playable free of charge over the internet in a network, upset this business model by organising five user “retention” strategies that have proved their worth in gambling.
The best known of these techniques is undoubtedly FoMO (for Fear of Missing Out), or fear of missing exceptional events. But there are several others, including motivation through uncertainty (Motivating Uncertainty Effect). It uses the famous loot boxes, or treasure chests. These are virtual boxes bought by the player with real money without knowing what is inside. They may or may not contain virtual items regarded as precious, with which the player equips their character (called an avatar) in the game. This might be the ability to make the avatar walk or dance in a certain way that sets it apart from the majority of others, but most often it is an appearance called a “skin”, such as Darth Vader’s costume in a Star Wars video game.
Since their introduction, loot boxes have raised ethical and legislative problems that are resolved differently from one country to another. Nevertheless, the International Court of Justice sitting in The Hague ultimately held that the loot boxes in the game Fifa do indeed represent a form of gambling.
The independent legal entity KSA (Kansspelautoriteit), which regulates and oversees gambling in the Netherlands, had filed a complaint against Electronic Arts in 2019. More specifically, against the refill packs (Packs) in its game Fifa. To improve their team in Ultimate Team mode, it is possible to buy loot boxes with random contents and obtain, for example, higher-performing players. Since these players display statistics whose value changes and can sometimes be traded, EA was in breach of Dutch gambling law.
As early as 2018, the KSA had investigated the loot box business model following numerous complaints from players, parents and youth protection associations. Following its investigation, the KSA asked the industry’s studios and publishers to exercise caution and comply with the gambling law in force in the Netherlands. Most members of the industry adapted their content accordingly… except Electronic Arts.
Today, Electronic Arts faces a maximum fine of 5 million euros since it did not have a licence allowing it to operate a game of chance. The verdict states in particular: “the KSA considers this breach of the law particularly worrying, as many children and young adults have access to the Packs in the game Fifa. They are therefore even more vulnerable to developing a gambling addiction”.
If the blade fell only two years later, it is because the judicial process takes a great deal of time, but also solid evidence. The concept of loot boxes is still “new” in the eyes of the law, so any verdict can lead to case law: all the rulings and judgments handed down by the Courts and Tribunals are therefore essential.
Cerulli-Harms, A. et al. (2020, July). Loot boxes in online games and their effect on consumers, in particular young consumers. Retrieved 25 September 2020 from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/652727/IPOL_STU(2020)652727_EN.pdf
Serge Tisseron is a psychiatrist, doctor of psychology accredited to supervise research, member of the Académie des technologies, and associate researcher at Université de Paris (CRPMS).
