Loot boxes in EA games are not an element of gambling, but “quite ethical and fun surprise mechanics”. That’s what EA’s vice President for Legal and government Affairs, Kerry Hopkins, calls it.
Hopkins expressed her opinion to the members of the UK Parliamentary Committee on Digital Technologies and Culture. She insists that virtual loot boxes are akin to chocolate “Kinder surprises,” writes PCGamesN.
We believe that by introducing such mechanics, often in FIFA, FIFA Ultimate Team and in our kits, we give people quite ethical and fun, fascinating mechanics. We share the opinion of the British, Australian and many other gambling commissions that loot boxes do not relate to gambling. And we will not agree with the opinion that loot boxes develop gambling addiction. We believe that this product, like many others, gives people pleasure in a healthy way — due to the element of surprise.
EA Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs
Hopkins cited the Australian commission as an example, but at the end of last year a local committee published a study linking loot boxes with gambling according to five criteria at once. The regulator also acknowledged that it is necessary to develop methods to protect players from loot boxes.
The authorities of some other countries — for example, Belgium — are already struggling with loot boxes very actively. They demand to remove loot boxes from games or block titles themselves, threatening publishers with large fines. But EA Vice President Hopkins noted that the regulators of these countries act out of court, and therefore the company does not agree with their arguments.
Nevertheless, the ranks of the opponents of the loot boxes have recently been replenished by the American authorities. Earlier it was reported that members of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of the United States signed a bill banning games with loot boxes.
Also on the topic:
- In Australia, the similarity between loot boxes and gambling has been recognizedIn Belgium, two Nintendo mobile games will be blocked due to loot boxes
- In the US, Democrats supported a bill against loot boxes proposed by a Republican
- Google Play banned games with loot boxes, where the chance of dropping items is not indicated