Today's Win or Tomorrow's Loss? EA Stops Selling In-Game Currency In Belgium

By Austin Wilson| @TheAustinPost1

EA has caved to demands by Belgian authorities

and has removed the sale of FIFA points from

FIFA 2018 and FIFA 2019 in Belgium.

“After further discussions with the Belgian

authorities, we have decided to stop offering

FIFA Points for sales in Belgium,” EA said in a

statement on their official website, “We’re

working to make these changes effective in our

FIFA console and PC games by January 31, 2019.”

EA was forced to remove the sale of FIFA Points

from their online store because they were in

violation of Belgium's anti-gambling laws. FIFA

points are used to purchase Ultimate Card Packs

for random rewards which vary by rarity.

The discussion over loot boxes and gambling

came after EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2, which

was described by gamers and lawmakers in

opposition to loot boxes as a 'Star Wars themed

online casino’. The Belgian Gaming Commission

responded to the backlash over the game by

opening up investigation to decide whether or

not loot boxes are a form of online gaming.

“Given the importance of the protection of

minors and vulnerable players, this is very

worrying," Minister of Justice Koen Green said

in a statement.

The authorities investigated several games

developed by Triple A studios with loot box features

to find gambling related themes. Some of those

games that were investigated like FIFA 18 and

Overwatch had gambling related themes and were

ordered by the Gaming Commission to remove the

ability to buy in-game currency for copies sold in
Belgium.

While Blizzard and Activision complied

with authorities, Electronic Arts refused to

comply, stating that they “do not agree with

Belgian authorities’ interpretation of the law”.

FIFA is EA's flagship title that earns roughly

$800 million annually. So naturally the publisher

wants to protect a major source of revenue.

EA is likely less concerned with the loss of a

few thousand dollars in Belgium and more

concerned for the precedents that Belgium's

ruling sets for other EU member nations and,

more importantly, the United States, where the

game publisher has seen the most criticism.

After the failure of Star Wars Battlefront 2 and

the ESRB failing to regulate loot boxes, gamers

began calling for governments to step in and take

action. In the US, several lawmakers led by

Hawaiian senator Chris Lee have been attempting

to pass bills regulating loot boxes and online

gambling.

Senator Chris Lee speaking on Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and
the loot box controversy.

While most gamers are pleased that

governments are taking action against corrupt

industry practices, others believe that it may

lead to further problems.

The United States government has repeatedly

blamed video games for violent crime on

numerous occasions and there's a growing fear

in the gaming community that the government

would take advantage during its intervention and

begin to censor content in games.

Government intervention is being seen as the

lesser of two evils in the loot box debate, but

is it worth giving one of gaming's biggest

critics the power to influence the industry?

Gamers need to proceed with caution because the

battle won today may lead to us losing the war

tomorrow.