Mario Kart Tour for iOS and Android was launched on 25 September, but will not be available in Belgium. Credit: Pixabay.

Mario Kart Tour for iOS and Andriod, newly launched on Wednesday, will not be available for download in Belgium.

Nintendo decided not to launch the mobile game Mario Kart Tour in Belgium because the game involves the use of loot boxes which do not comply with Belgian Gambling Authority regulations.

As real money can be spent on loot boxes and players do not know what the contents of the box will be, the feature is associated with gambling, reports Belgian’s trending news channel, TagMag.

Nintendo will be missing out on 11.5 million potential players, reports TopGear.

Fun Fact: Mario Kart Tour will not be releasing in Belgium, as they have banned loot boxes in video games. https://t.co/rquEDesswI pic.twitter.com/JFqCSd4z1R — Mario Kart Tour Countdown (@MKTCountdown) September 23, 2019

In January 2019, EA Sports was forced to remove its in-game currency, FIFA points, in Belgium, because of the loot box ban, reported TheVerge.

Evie McCullough

The Brussels Times