The Belgian authorities have concluded that loot boxes in games are akin to gambling, and have made their inclusion in games illegal. EA has refused to remove FIFA's lootboxes, and could be under criminal investigation in the country as a result.

Earlier this year, Valve halted player trades for Dutch CS: Go and DOTA players and disabled CS:GO lootboxes completely. Now, loot boxes are back for DOTA players in The Netherlands, but they now show their contents before purchase.

After the debacle around Star Wars Battlefront II last year, Belgium is putting a ban on games with loot boxes akin to those in Overwatch, Counter-Strike and FIFA 18.

If you listen to game publishers, the microtransactions you’ll find in games aren’t anything like gambling. Most recently, Take-Two president Karl Slatoff opined that it’s about keeping the consumer happy.

"The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," says Belgium's Gaming Commission, who now wants predatory loot boxes in games banned throughout Europe.

Despite EA's changes post the beta, Battlefront II still rewards players handsomly for spending lots of money on loot crates, while making the playing field severe stacked against those who don't.

There’s a growing consensus that in-game Loot Boxes should be regulated just like regular gambling. Only they’re not gambling, according to the ESRB. The company that handles the regulation and classification of content in the US says that loot boxes aren’t gambling.

Justice is arriving for those involved in last years gambling saga, starting with Nephentez in the UK!