Loot boxes have been the bane of Europe. They also have had elicited mixed feelings in observers. Used by every major game maker in the world, these new chests of treats may prove to be a bit too addictive. Not so much according to the Irish government, though, even at a time when Belgium and the Netherlands have both ruled out against them.
Opening the Box of Goodies
Loot boxes have been an incredibly popular part of the gaming and now possibly gambling industry. Because they work as boxes that contain certain number of in-game items (most commonly skins that allow you to change the appearance of your heroes or the weapons they use).
Now, sprucing up the looks of one’s alter ego does no-one any harm, but the fact that the loot itself can be so tricky has given some reason for concern.
Starting with Valve back in 2016, the company was lambasted legally by irate parents who had just found out that their kids had gambled away and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of skins (those same in-game frills that bestow the ultimate bragging rights upon the carrier).
Valve had indeed to fight through an unpalatable lawsuit, leaving it smarting and a little wiser. As a result, the company took down a number of reputable skin-trading and gambling platforms and said that it would no longer support loot boxes in the way it has so far.
Though you still get your bags of goodies, they cannot be exchanged or traded and even the common trade channels have come under quite a bit of scrutiny.
So Not Gambling After All
The Irish government has agreed that loot boxes don’t constitute gambling in the truest sense of the word. Even then though, they exhibit way too many of the traits that are associated with gambling products.
Game developers, such as EA, have been strong champion, arguing to the contrary. However, their arguments have always seemed to be predicated on personal financial gain, which has made a lot of people very reluctant to trust EA indeed.
The makings of gambling are there, though, with chests being painfully easy to purchase in-game with a simple click and not so much as stopping to actually think about the implications.
Ireland’s lenient stance is the first in a series of countries around the world that have been chasing after game developers trying to sell their goodies to younger audiences. In France, Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands the debate had been settled in favor of regulators and parents.
Ireland, on the other hand, has decided to follow in the footsteps of that “not exactly a gambling product” proviso that seems to give loot boxes quite a bit of leeway in the country.
Even if gambling, though, loot boxes don’t seem to have done anything much to Ireland and its young adults, though no official study has been carried out as well. Identifying the downsides of loot boxes will come at a later stage in the country.
Hopefully, it won’t be too late by then.
