EA Responds to Legal Classification of Loot Boxes as Gambling

Electronic Arts (EA) and loot boxes have become synonymous over the years and some of the shadier sides of that particular practice have backfired exponentially. One of their most recent controversies revolved around information coming to light that EA was purposefully unbalancing their multiplayer components in Star Wars Battlefront II to coerce players in feeling like they needed to purchase in-game boosts through microtransactions in order to win. Luckily, that aspect of the game has since been removed, but with more and more regions declaring loot boxes an illegal activity, it was only a matter of time before the mega-publisher responded.

During the most recent financial conference call for the company, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson addressed a question head on about whether or not the new regulatory laws in Europe about loot boxes in games being considered gambling would affect titles like FIFA 18. Wilson mentioned that they have been working side by side with others in the industry and corresponding associations regarding the new outlook on loot boxes and that they are not going to see a negative impact on their current library.

Working with global forces regarding this issue, he mentioned that they have already "evaluated and established that programs like FIFA Ultimate Team are not gambling." He then went on to explain that EA does not see their use of microtransactions as gambling and that they disagree with the conjecture about this particular topic.

In FIFA, though you can't purchase a player in the same way Battlefront tempts players to purchase a hero, players can use real life money to "pack" a player in order to increase their worth throughout the title's entirety. Unlike the Battlefront controversy, at least FIFA seems more balanced. They don't necessarily lean on players to make in-game purchases, whereas the Star Wars game blocked desired base characters behind a pay wall when it was first launched. With such a close eye on this practice and EA feeling the heat from investors, it will be interesting to see what 2018 will bring from the company, especially with titles like Anthem, Battlefield, and more coming in the foreseeable future.