Electronics Arts has defended tooth and nail its modality of rewards for microtransactions, and there is no shortage of reasons, and that is that it is the company's largest source of income through games like FIFA. But many governments are beginning to take action on the matter, such as the Netherlands, which forced the company to withdraw the format. Did? Well no.
A fine of 10 million euros
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, Ksa), which is the organization that has imposed an administrative order on Electronics Ars Inc and Electronic Arts Swiss Sàrl of 5 millones de euros to each one for violating the Law of the Game with their Packs in FIFA.
It all goes back to 2018, which is when the Ksa carried out a study whose conclusions reflect a relationship between gambling and Ultimate Team card packs. According to the organization, the loot boxes generate a principle of addiction to the game that should not be within the reach of minors, and since FIFA is a video game designed for all audiences, that is where the problem arises.
withdrawal order
For this reason, the Ksa asked all companies in the video game industry to adapt their games so that they would not violate the country's Gambling Law, and although many took note, it seems that Electronic Arts Inc and Electronic Arts Swiss Sàrl did not pay attention. .
According to the laws, those companies that offer games of chance must have a license specially created for it, and also, underage players could not have access to it. The Ksa has been behind Electronic Arts in FIFA 18 and FIFA 19, and although it may seem like games too old to get into lawsuits now, in reality it is all due to slow bureaucratic processes that end up delaying everything.
What does EA say about all this?
EA's defense is based on the fact that the packs of FIFA Ultimate Team They cannot be considered chance mechanisms since what they offer cannot be converted into money. In the end, they defend that FIFA is a game of skill, and not of chance, and point out that there is no evidence that the Ultimate Team packages are addictive.
But things were clear in court, and instead of being convinced by those defenses, they admitted that they knew full well that there are letters of great value that can be sold for 2.000 euros (by transfer of accounts), and that, after all, many Users can unlink the main reason for the game to focus on buying cards.
Something that EA did request is that the fine not be made public, since it would tarnish its image and reputation, but the court ruled that the public interest would serve to raise awareness of this type of illegal practice and would be more useful than preserving the public interest. brand reputation.