Penalty of Up to 500,000 Euros a Week for Lootboxes in FIFA

Back in 2018, the Dutch Gaming Authority ordered video game developers whose productions included various forms of lootboxes and microtransactions to withdraw these items from their titles in the Netherlands under the threat of, among other things, financial penalties (which led, for example, to the fact that gamers cannot trade items from lootboxes in CS:GO and Dota 2 in the country). Today we learned that Electronic Arts and the player card packs sold as part of FIFA Ultimate Team may become another victim of the Dutch authorities' decision.

Today, EA has received an ultimatum, either the lootboxes will disappear from the game in the next three weeks or the company will incur a weekly penalty of €500,000. Moreover, the penalty may increase over time if EA does not follow the recommendations. Of course, these are only valid (for the time being) in the Netherlands.

It is worth knowing that Electronic Arts has tried to appeal against the initial decision of the authority (the case has been going on since 2018), claiming that the card packs are closely related to the game, and the items have value only in the title and users are unable to make money from them. However, the court ruled that virtual players can be sold to third parties for the appropriate currency, which can then be exchanged at external sites.

However, it is not known whether the case will end at this point, as one of EA representatives, Dirk Scholing, stated that the company intends further appeals:

• Dutch Gambling Authority - official homepage
• Electronic Arts - official homepage
• FIFA 21 - game guide
• FIFA 21 Review - EA Is at It Again