After roughly a week of scrutiny, the Belgian Gaming Commission has told local media outlet VTM that yes, “loot crate” monetization schemes in games do qualify as gambling.
The details are somewhat jumbled since they come from VTM via Google Translate, but the gist is something devs should be aware of: the Gaming Commission has decided in-game “loot crates” which you can purchase for real money without knowing in advance what you’ll get out of them are gambling.
In light of that decision, Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Greens has told VTM that he would like to ban such systems from being implemented in games at all, both in Belgium and in Europe at large.
Last week, after Belgian Gaming Commission general director Peter Naessens told VTM the regulator would be scrutinizing loot box systems in games like Overwatch and Electronic Arts’ Star Wars Battlefront II, an EA representative told GameSpot that “the crate mechanics of Star Wars Battlefront II are not gambling” because players can earn them through play and they’re always guaranteed to give the player some sort of payout.
Shortly thereafter, the Battlefront II team temporarily disabled all microtransaction opportunities in the game while they re-evaluate the game’s progression and monetization systems.