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As the argument over what exactly loot boxes are rages on around the world, EA claims there is a lack of consensus over whether they should be classified as gambling.
The argument surrounding loot boxes in video games has been raging on for years at this point, and there's no end in sight. EA has and continues to be at the center of that since it makes so much money from the mechanic. In particular, FIFA's Ultimate Team. FUT's packs are loot boxes, despite EA's attempt to rebrand them “surprise mechanics”, as you open them without knowing what awaits inside. Not including the new preview packs feature, of course.
Some countries have already made the move to reclassify loot boxes as gambling, forcing EA to change the way FUT functions in certain regions. It's the UK where the most intense debate is going on at the moment. As highlighted by Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole during an interview with EA's chief experience officer Chris Bruzzo, even the House of Lords is of the belief loot boxes should fall under gambling laws.
When confronted with research conducted in the UK “robustly verifying” the link between loot boxes and gambling, Bruzzo claimed there is still not a consensus on whether that is the case or not. “There actually isn't consensus at this point on this topic. In Australia, in France, in Sweden, in Denmark, all the regulators have all said, no, we're not going to regulate this under gambling laws,” Bruzzo pointed out.
It's exactly that point why there is no end in sight when it comes to the argument over whether loot boxes are gambling or not. The law change has been made in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, but as Bruzzo says, there are other countries where research and even lawmakers have decided otherwise.
All of the research on both sides continues to come to a head in the UK, which is arguably where EA has the most to lose. While FIFA is a game that sells millions of copies worldwide, a huge chunk of its player base resides in the UK. Should laws change and loot boxes fall under gambling laws in the UK, it would be a huge blow to EA and how much money FUT brings in each year.