The Brazilian authorities have launched an investigation, according to the results of which the country may completely ban loot boxes. Several major publishers are mentioned in the case. Companies that refuse to turn off these mechanics in the event of a ban may face daily fines of over $700 thousand.The National Association of Centers for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (ANCED) appealed to the authorities to ban loot boxes.
The organization considers them a form of gambling, which is prohibited in Brazil.
The investigation is about a lot of large companies. Among them are Electronic Arts, Riot Games, Nintendo, Garena, Konami, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Sony, Tencent, Ubisoft and Valve.
According to the Brazilian edition of The Enemy, ANCED asks the publisher Garena to stop selling loot boxes in Free Fire. The organization also requires Garena to pay compensation in the amount of 1.5 billion reais ($267 million) and 1,000 reais ($178) to each minor user of Free Fire.
So far, the Brazilian authorities have not applied sanctions to any of the above companies. However, Prosecutor Luisa de Marillac Xavier dos Passos (Luisa de Marillac Xavier dos Passos) noted that the fines requested by ANCED are too large.
Today, this problem is being actively discussed in different countries. In March, it became known that the German government is considering a reform that could prohibit the sale of games with loot boxes to minors.
A recent study found that a third of British teenagers started spending money on loot boxes from the age of 13. Last year, the European Union also published the results of an investigation on the topic of loot boxes and proposed a number of measures to regulate gambling mechanics in games.