Belgium says loot boxes are gambling, wants them banned in Europe

[SvennoJ]

IkePoR said:

SvennoJ said:

Was there chance involved in what they purchased? I've heard of those stories as well but it was always about buying in game currency or skins etc. Plus that has led to better regulation and forced Apple to tighten up their parental controls.

A closer alternative is why are Pokemon blind card packs not gambling? Loot boxes are merely the digital equivalent.

Because despite a particular Pokemon card not having value for you, you're encouraged to trade them to someone who'd want them in return for something you'd want.  A very different beast than gambling and getting useless sprays that you can't use in Overwatch.

Can't you trade loot box items? I was under the impression that people payed lots for certain digital items on Steam. Isn't that part of the problem that you can basically win money in a sense. You can sell rare pokemon cards as well or get a bunch of duds I imagine.  But I guess it's easier to keep clicking a button and buy a whole bunch of lootboxes for that specific item than going around a bunch of stores buying up all the card packs to find that one special card.