Dutch Court Deems Esports Loot Boxes Not Gambling

The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State in the Hague’s District Court has issued a judgement regarding Electronic Arts (EA) and its video game FIFA. The KSA initially fined EA €250,000 per week for allegedly violating article 1(a) of the Dutch Gaming Act. The violation was related to the presence of loot boxes and player packs within FIFA, which the KSA considered to be gambling products. EA appealed multiple times, until the recent court judgment was made by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division on 29 November 2021. EA argued that the loot boxes and player packs should not be classified as gambling products, as they are part of the larger FIFA game and cannot be accessed separately. The court agreed with EA’s argument, revoking all previous decisions and stating that the loot boxes and player packs do not meet the requirements of gambling products under the Dutch Gaming Act. Consequently, the court ruled that EA is not obligated to comply with the penalty.