​The Belgian Gaming Commission is now recommending criminal prosecution should be taken against companies like Blizzard and Valve that have loot boxes in their games.

The BGC announced last montg loot boxes are now considered ​illegal gambling. Games like Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and FIFA 2018 were found in violation of the law and were issued a certain amount of time to change the loot boxes in their games or remove them completely. The Belgian Gaming Commission is now recommending criminal prosecution if loot boxes are not modified.





"Both in the purchase of loot boxes and in the entire operation of the game, all of this can lead to pure manipulation of individuals or groups of players," the report read. "The line between encouragement and manipulation is sometimes difficult to differentiate in an online environment where one party (game manufacturer/game platform) records almost everything and the consumer who plays the game rather passively from this perspective."

https://t.co/4Ba1Xvaqix



"A new study from Juniper Research forecasts that loot boxes and skins gambling, two emerging gaming growth sectors, will reach a total spend of $50 billion by 2022, up from under $30 billion this year." — Jeroen Ruigrok (@ashemedai) April 19, 2018

The Dutch Gambling Authority also found loot boxes in violation of its gambling laws and set up a ​similar deadline for developers to edit or remove the loot boxes in their games. Valve recently implemented a ​seven day trade ban on skins in CS:GO, in an attempt to put an end to skin ​gambling websites.





Cover photo courtesy of Blizzard

Which esport indulgence is right for you? Tell us about your esports preferences and tendencies to learn the best way to satisfy your fan cravings! Is League of Legends your #1 esport? Do you believe in crowdsourcing? Buy the Conqueror Varus skin for MSI! Do you like to take risks? Buy skin capsules! Buy the legendary skin of your favorite champion! Is Counter-Strike more your jam? Do you like the Majors? Buy Legends stickers! Surely your favorite has to be Overwatch then, right? Do you like Overwatch League? Buy the Twitch All-Access Pass! Ok, ok...What about Dota 2? Are you a fan? Buy the Dota Pass! Buy a subscription to Ninja's Twitch Channel because you're probably a Fortnite fan! Do you go to live events? Buy the jersey of your favorite team! Buy a second computer monitor to enhance your viewing experience! Buy regular loot boxes!



