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EA will stop selling FIFA’s in-game currency in Belgium because of a ban on loot boxes

EA will stop selling FIFA’s in-game currency in Belgium because of a ban on loot boxes

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The in-game currency is used to buy random packs of new players

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FIFA 19

FIFA is the latest casualty of Belgium’s loot box ban, with publisher EA announcing that it will stop selling FIFA points, the game’s in-game currency, in the country as of January 31st.

In FIFA 19’s Ultimate Team mode, players can earn FIFA Points in-game or buy them with a credit or debit card. These points can then be used to purchase packs of players known as FUT packs. The quality of the players inside each pack varies, though as of FIFA 19, EA does now share the odds (or “Pack Probabilities”) of gamers finding each class of player.

When Belgium introduced its loot box ban last year it defined the practice as an “illegal game of chance.” EA was defiant, and said loot boxes were not a form of gambling and that its games were “developed and implemented ethically and lawfully around the world.”

FUT packs let gamers unlock new players using currency earned in-game or bought with real money.
FUT packs let gamers unlock new players using currency earned in-game or bought with real money.
Credit: EA

But in a statement this week, the company admitted defeat, saying that “after further discussions with the Belgian authorities, we have decided to stop offering FIFA Points for sale in Belgium.” Players in Belgium who previously bought FIFA points will be able to spend them or continue to earn them in-game, but they won’t be able to purchase new ones.

FIFA 19 is the latest game to be affected by Belgium’s new law, with publisher Square Enix pulling a trio of titles (including Final Fantasty and Kingdom Hearts titles) earlier this year.

Belgium is not a particularly large market for video games compared to the rest of Europe or North America, but its stance on loot boxes could be the tip of a legislative iceberg. Lawmakers in the UK, US, Japan, and elsewhere have all examined the issue of loot boxes in recent months, worried that young people could become addicted to these randomized rewards. Further scrutiny could yet lead to further bans, covering more than just FIFA.