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Thread: Belgium Concludes that Loot Boxes are Gambling, Will Try and Ban Them in Europe

  1. #1

    Belgium Concludes that Loot Boxes are Gambling, Will Try and Ban Them in Europe

    Belgium's Gaming Commission announced last week that the body would be investigating whether or not loot boxes in games like Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Overwatch could be considered a form of gambling. Well the investigation appears to have reached a conclusion. According to VTM News the Commission has ruled yes, loot boxes are a form of gambling.
    According to a Google translation (via PCGamer), "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," said Belgium's Gaming Commission. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens added that "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child."
    Apparently Geens wants to ban in-game purchases like loot boxes in both Belgium and abroad. He explained that while Belgian officials will have to go to Europe to enforce their findings, the Belgian government "will certainly try to ban it."

    More at: http://www.usgamer.net/articles/belg...them-in-europe


    Words have no meaning anymore.

    How can it be gambling if you can't cash it out for money?
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  3. #2
    It's worse than gambling because you don't even get anything tangible, most of the time can't even trade to other players within the game. They (game companies) take advantage of people with addictive personalities for whatever reason will drop 1k on a video game.
    A savage barbaric tribal society where thugs parade the streets and illegally assault and murder innocent civilians, yeah that is the alternative to having police. Oh wait, that is the police

    We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
    - Edward R. Murrow

    ...I think we have moral obligations to disobey unjust laws, because non-cooperation with evil is as much as a moral obligation as cooperation with good. - MLK Jr.

    How to trigger a liberal: "I didn't get vaccinated."

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Warrior_of_Freedom View Post
    It's worse than gambling because you don't even get anything tangible, most of the time can't even trade to other players within the game. They (game companies) take advantage of people with addictive personalities for whatever reason will drop 1k on a video game.
    I don't like it either but it is not gambling and it is not illegal nor should it be, caveat emptor, a fool and his money are soon parted.
    The market participants were already rebelling and EA was already retreating.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  5. #4
    The united fight against loot boxes isn’t slowing down. Following the recent news that Belgium and Hawaii are looking to ban the practice, it seems that Australia is also investigating the controversial system.
    Answering an inquiry from a redditor called -Caesar, Jarrod Wolfe, a strategic analyst in the Compliance Division of the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation said that loot boxes do constitute gambling “by the definition of the Victorian Legislation.”

    More at: https://www.techspot.com/news/72016-...-gambling.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Raginfridus View Post
    http://www.arjel.fr/IMG/pdf/20171120courrier.pdf

    Its become a global $#@!storm, with gaming commissions across the West investigating $#@!ty vdya gayms for gambling.
    ...
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  7. #6
    This is too rich. I'm seeing muh childrun arguments all over the place lol

    Raise them so they don't indulge in $#@!? fiik

  8. #7
    UK Gambling Commission Executive Director Tim Miller weighed in with an online post on Saturday, warning that "We are concerned with the growth in examples where the line between video gaming and gambling is becoming increasingly blurred."
    The Entertainment Software Association, a video game industry trade group, has come out in defense of loot boxes.
    "Loot boxes are a voluntary feature in certain video games that provide players with another way to obtain virtual items that can be used to enhance their in-game experiences," the association said.
    "They are not gambling."

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/backlash-...081524426.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  9. #8
    Calling lootboxes gambling has no plausible justification. They are a particularly annoying money grab innovation though. Used to be you bought a game and played it. Now you buy a game, and pay extra to make it easier or more fun to play.

    The State telling companies how to design games is really not the direction we want to go.
    >_<



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  11. #9
    Officials in Belgium have determined that loot boxes violate the country's gambling laws and if publishers don't remove them from their games, they face jail time and fines. Specifically, FIFA 18, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive were found to be in violation. While Star Wars Battlefront II was also part of the Belgian government's investigation, EA's removal of the game's loot boxes kept it from bumping up against the country's legislation. In a statement, Minister of Justice Koen Geens said that if loot boxes in the aforementioned games aren't removed, their publishers could be subject to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €800,000 (approximately $974,926). If children are involved, those punishments could be doubled.
    Last week, the Netherlands also decided that loot boxes in some games were essentially gambling and called for publishers to remove them by mid-June, while countries like the UK and New Zealand have declared that loot boxes aren't gambling. A number of US lawmakers have introduced bills regarding loot boxes, both to study them and restrict access to minors. Meanwhile, in response to the loot box controversy, the ESRB added an "In-Game Purchases" label to boxed games that have some sort of in-game purchase, including those with loot boxes.
    Unlike the Netherlands, Belgium hasn't instituted a deadline for the changes it's calling for. Instead, Geens says he wants to start a dialogue between developers and the Gaming Commission.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/loot-...180500749.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  12. #10
    Lol. #1 comment on a Reddit thread regarding this...

    Does this mean we're all going to route VPN through Belgium to avoid loot boxes in games?

  13. #11
    Loot boxes in video games bad because teaches kids to gamble.

    Lobbing missiles at sovereign states risking global nuclear annihilation ok because an exceptional nation cannot appear weak as this may jeopardize long term financial interests of key linch pins of global order.
    When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?
    When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Amos 3:6



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