18 European Consumer Groups Fight Against Loot Boxes

The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has released a new report on the influence of loot boxes on the games industry, where it calls the loot box mechanics manipulative and exploitative.

The report was backed by 20 consumer groups in 18 European countries. The organizations represent consumers in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, with the NCC and the European Consumer Organisation in Brussels coordinating and leading the campaign.

The report accuses loot box systems of having "deceptive design, aggressive marketing, and misleading probabilities." According to Finn Myrstad, director of digital policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council, the games with such mechanics are exploiting consumers through "predatory mechanisms", "fostering addiction", and "targeting vulnerable consumer groups."

In the report, the NCC introduced several proposals for the industry and its regulators that they can implement to improve the landscape around loot boxes. The list includes:

• Banning "deceptive design" which exploits consumers;
• Denominating all in-game purchases in real-world currency;
• Excluding the loot boxes and "pay-to-win" mechanisms in games aimed at minors;
• More transparency around algorithms that are involved in the loot boxes system;
• More enforcement around consumer rights in games.

The NCC also noted that if these measures do not alleviate the problems, a total ban of paid loot boxes can be considered.

The NCC’s report is the latest attempt to regulate loot boxes. In 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission ruled out that games with such mechanics violate gambling laws in the country. Two years later, Electronic Arts was fined €10 million over FIFA loot boxes in the Netherlands, although eventually the decision was overturned as it was decided that loot boxes do not violate gambling laws in the country.

Since then, several publishers including Nintendo, Blizzard, and Konami have stopped selling loot boxes in Belgium and other countries which have dedicated legislation.

Just a couple of days ago, on May 31, Blizzard canceled the release of Diablo Immortal in Belgium and the Netherlands due to the countries' legislation regarding loot boxes.

You can find the NCC's report here. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.