The Dutch game industry wants to start a discussion about a ban on ‘tradable’ gambling elements in games. The sector wants the Gaming Authority to clarify the proposal for a ban on so-called loot boxes. With a manifesto, the Dutch Games Association made its voice heard today in the debate surrounding the ban on salable gambling elements in games. The Dutch Gaming Authority wants a ban on so-called loot boxes with an economic value. Lootboxes are surprise packages that players can buy in popular games such as FIFA or World of Warcraft and then resell them. The Dutch Games Association agrees with the intention of the Gaming Authority to restrict this. “Dutch developers and publishers want to prevent their game from being a gateway to a gambling addiction or that games of chance are disguised as entertainment games. They generally have a preference for making and playing games and see entertainment games as an important cultural expression.” But if you want to experience an online casino you are free to visit Malaysia casino for more details.
Traded outside the game maker
What the industry does fear is that the term ‘tradable’ is being used too broadly. It wants clarity on ‘the scope of the term ‘negotiable’.’ Accounts can also be sold on online marketplaces outside the control of a game maker. “The industry believes that excluding the item from being traded in the game should be enough to avoid being classified as a game of chance if the game’s terms of use prohibit trading accounts.” The Dutch Games Association wants to talk to the Gaming Authority. Last September, the Kansspelautoreit itself already said that it wanted to discuss a possible ban with game makers.
Not a big game studio
86 parties are affiliated to the Dutch Games Association, including many small educational game companies and many educational institutions, including the Hogeschool van Arnhem and Nijmegen, Fontys Hogeschool, and the University of Amsterdam. The economic affairs department of the municipality of Amsterdam also has a place in the trade association. There are no major game studios on the list. That makes sense because there is no so-called AAA studio in Dutch hands. Guerrilla Games (the makers of Horizon Zero Dawn and Killzone) is based in Amsterdam but has been owned by Sony since 2005.
FIFA in Belgium
In recent months, game companies have been particularly rapped on the fingers in sort of several countries in an actual big way. In Belgium, EA for all intents and purposes has particularly stopped selling FIFA points in the football game, which could definitely be used to purchase loot boxes. Blizzard, the gamer of Overwatch and World of Warcraft, also for all intents and purposes stopped selling loot boxes in Belgium. In the Netherlands, both companies will mostly continue with it for the time being in a kind of big way.
