In 2018, the Belgium became one of the first countries to establish that the loot box they are a form of gambling. For this reason, they were automatically banned from video games. However, it now appears that this ruling has been ineffective, with loot boxes still present in 82% of the best mobile games.
This news comes from the loot box researcher Leon Y. Xiao, which found that the most successful mobile game developers are ignoring the ban. Xiao’s report said the ban simply gave consumers a “false sense of security” and needs to be addressed if the law is to be enforced as intended.
“Loot boxes remained widely available among the top 100 highest-grossing iPhone games in Belgium“, the report reads.”82% continued to generate revenue through a randomized monetization method, as did 80.2% of games rated suitable for ages 12 and up“.
In essence, the ban “was not enforced effectively”, with the study also talking about the negative side effects of its failure to implement. For example, it means that companies that comply with regulations are basically punished for doing so, making less revenue than publishers who have bypassed the rules.
Xiao suggests that regulators change their strategy: “The complete elimination of the loot box mechanism from a country is practically not feasible.” The ban has only ever been part of existing gambling legislation, with no specific law reserved for loot boxes. This makes it impossible for game companies to obtain a license to legally implement them.
Source: Eurogamer
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