Austrian court classes FIFA loot boxes as gambling, orders Sony to refund customers

thesixthaxis.com:

An Austrian court has ruled that video game loot boxes count as gambling in an ongoing case against PlayStation and EA, ordering Sony to offer a refund to the plaintiff that bought the FIFA Ultimate Team packs.

The Hermargor District Court in Austria has determined that FIFA Ultimate Team packs are “licensable games of chance” and that they have a “financial benefit within the meaning of the Austrian Gambling Act” because they can be resold on a secondary market, which could be a potential source of profit.

Since they made the game it would make the most sense that EA would be in the firing line here, but why has Sony been roped into this? Simply put, they offer the storefront through which FUT packs can be bought, and the purchase agreement is made with the PlayStation Store as opposed to EA. Since the FUT packs count as gambling, Sony needs to have a gambling license that they do not have.

The ruling means that Sony has to fully refund the the €338.26 that was spent on FIFA points by a 17-year-old Austrian – one of a handful of lawsuits that were filed targeting the Austrian anti-gambling laws. That’s an almost hilariously small amount, but this ruling could have a far-reaching impact, and sets a precedent for the other suits brought by Viennese law firm Salburg last year, the largest of which come in the tens of thousands of Euros. It could mean that Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and various PC storefronts start to apply pressure on EA and other game makers using loot box mechanics to step away from the money-making tactics.

Sony naturally has a right to appeal, and since this is a smaller regional court, it will no doubt work its way up through the Austrian and European courts over the next few years.

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