[Infinity]

Blizzard finally went ahead and did it!

Source: https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/ov...n-belgium/8139

In April 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission published a report that was endorsed by the Belgian Ministry of Justice in which they concluded that paid loot boxes in Overwatch are considered gambling under local law. While we at Blizzard were surprised by this conclusion and do not share the same opinion, we have decided to comply with their interpretation of Belgian law. As a result, we have no choice but to implement measures that will prevent Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm players located in Belgium from purchasing in-game loot boxes and loot chests with real money and gems.

No matter what, we want to make sure that our players around the world have the best entertainment experience possible. While players in Belgium will no longer be able to purchase paid loot boxes in Overwatch and loot chests in Heroes of the Storm, they’ll still be able to earn them by playing the games, and they’ll still have access to all in-game content.

These measures will be implemented shortly. We also remain open to further discussions with the Belgian Gaming Commission and Ministry of Justice on this topic.

[WelshAvenger]

Holy cow! So STO and other games have to withdraw loot boxes in Belgium?

[Mack]

But does the drop rate in overwatch increase for Belgium players or remain the same as it currently is? Since technically, it still can be earned, but that's not alot if you try the earning them method.

[Sul-Matuul]

How does the lootbox system work in Overwatch? I've never played it so is it like STO's where you need a key to open the box or do you need to buy it with cash and it doesn't need a key?

How exactly would a game like STO implement something like this though?
I mean say the UK bans lootboxoes and as such i can no longer buy keys in the C-store based on where my IP is located. Does that not mean that I can no longer make a decent volume of EC to buy anything seeing as keys are the thing that drive the economy and i now have no access to it?
Plus i can currently convert game time to cash equivalent via the dil-exchange, so i should in theory be still able to use that Zen to buy keys; how could the game differentiate between bought Zen and earned Zen?

[Three of Seven]

Keys would probably be removed from the C-Store in the case of STO, they probably wouldn't even attempt to find a different solution to getting keys for a blocked country, it would drive the EC market for keys upwards though.

With Overwatch, there are no keys, you just by boxes straight up, like a pack of cards, you can also earn boxes from events and gaining levels.

[Petrarch]

There's another game recently, I forget which one, which has attempted to get around this by showing the contents of the lootbox before you buy it, so in effect the person paying isn't gambling, they know exactly what they're getting.

The catch to it is that the contents of the lootbox doesn't change from the preview. Regardless if you purchase it then and there or wait a month, the items you see are the still going to be the ones you get.

From the UK side of things, I'm not entirely sure of the details behind it all, but the Gambling Commission (who regulate and licence the industry, including the National Lottery) don't view lootboxes as gambling as there's no option to "cash out", so you can't get your money back again either in part or full from the game/retailer in question.

[Sul-Matuul]

Keys would probably be removed from the C-Store in the case of STO, they probably wouldn't even attempt to find a different solution to getting keys for a blocked country, it would drive the EC market for keys upwards though.

With Overwatch, there are no keys, you just by boxes straight up, like a pack of cards, you can also earn boxes from events and gaining levels.

So would you imagine them to just drop the lockbox mechanic all together? And move everything to the store in-game then? I imagine that would result in a large price increase for everything as keys/boxes must make them the majority of their money.

I'm merely speculating here, it looks like this is only Belgium right now anyway but i guess Cryptic would possibly do the easiest solution which would be to remove said content; that has ever been their way.

[Mark Okuda]

I don't see loot boxes as gambling. There is no monetary gain from buying loot boxes.

[Three of Seven]

Gambling just means to put money on something with the hopes of getting a reward, it doesn't have to be money. It's usually only gambling to win money which is regulated by goverment legislation around the world, but loopholes like penny slots or the prize being an item and not money are how companies adapt.

Spending money on an outcome that is not guaranteed to provide an expected result is gambling.

If I go to a cafe and order a coffee, I expect a coffee. But if I order a "lucky drink", I could end up with anything, I want the coffee, but might get a glass of water, I have put money on the line to attempt to get something that I might not get.