The Dutch Gaming Authority recently released a study, with it showing that the organization looked into ten currently undisclosed games that use loot box-style reward systems. In the study, the organization confirmed that four of these games were determined to have problems in violation of the gambling laws in place. The publishers of these four games have been issued demands to change, with repercussions if they don’t.
The Dutch Gaming Authority released a copy of the study in English, and here’s the basic gist of its findings. Of the ten games examined, the four that stand out do so because in tandem with the loot box system, players are also allowed to trade items. Because of the monetary nature of loot boxes, this effectively assigns a real money value to the items instead. Players can easily set up external transactions with third party services and by Dutch law, that’s gambling.
The Authority issued letters to these companies, asking that changes be made to these systems within eight weeks. If the deadline isn’t met, this will make said companies vulnerable to local fines, and potential barring of sales in the Netherlands.
Source: Reddit