Hawaii Is Investigating EA’s “Predatory Practices” With Loot Boxes As Well

Just mere hours after we reported that Belgium was looking to get loot boxes banned from video games following an extensive investigation, a completely different area is conducting its own look into the matter – Hawaii.

Yesterday, Chris Lee, who serves as the Democratic State Representative from Hawaii, held a press conference to announced that it was going to be investigating legislation that would ban games like EA's Star Wars: Battlefront II and other types from being played by young children. And they could very well pursue the matter on a national scale.

Belgium's investigation found that the "pay-to-win" loot box system that Star Wars: Battlefront II was going to use (before EA removed it temporarily at the last minute) was a bit too close to gambling, and Lee believes that they'll find similar results.

"This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino," he explained, noting "predatory practices" by the company. And then he quipped Admiral Ackbar by saying, "It's a trap." (Nice touch.)

The full conference can be found above, and features Lee alongside legislator Sean Quinlan, along with a concerned parent and a player that aren't too fond about the "loot box" system either.

There are some questions that come into play here, like what kind of changes EA and others can put into their games so it's not so much about "pay-to-win." But if Hawaii finds it's a little too close to gambling, it might need to make those changes sooner rather than later.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.