In a recent statement by Dutch Minister, F.M Weerwind, they have confirmed that they will be looking to take action against loot boxes in video games, even mentioning the possibility of an outright ban.
The topic has been one of controversy within the Dutch parliament and this question came from journalists and reporters during question time, which specifically asked about any future regulations they plan to impose.
Weerwind said that the government was considering a number of policy recommendations:
“This includes the adopted motion by member [Henri] Bontenbal, who requests the cabinet to look for a possibility to ban loot boxes in games in the Netherlands and to amend the law where there is a need to do so.”
The controversy of loot boxes started in March as a ruling confirmed by the Dutch courts confirmed that loot boxes were not seen as a form of gambling. Thus, overturning a fixed penalty that was targeted towards EA game studios by the Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
Controversies are starting to appear all around parliament now, regarding the ethics around sports gambling companies sponsoring the beloved football teams in the Netherlands such as Ajax and PSV, to name a couple.
Dutch parliament plans to combat this by implementing a new ban on all untargeted ads for online gambling. This policy will come into play in 2024.
