The avalanche continues.

Belgian VTM Nieuws reported that the Belgian Gaming Commission, which started its investigation last week, has come forward with their decision: loot boxes are considered gambling, and mixing gambling with gaming is dangerous, especially for children’s mental health.

The Belgian Minister of Justice, Koen Geens would entirely just ban in-game purchasing, and he would also roll this ban out to Europe altogether! However, this action will take time, as it would have to go through the European Union…

Chris Lee, a representative of Hawaii, also stepped into the ring – the American politician called Star Wars: Battlefront II an „online casino designed to lure kids into spending money,” going as far as quoting a famous Star Wars quote: „it’s a trap!” There’s a video of his statement, which he found on Reddit, and he even commented there! He pointed out that this video wasn’t ready to be published yet, but they’ll go with it now.

Quoting him: „[…] this fight can be won if people step up. This fight is about protecting kids, protecting families, freedom from exploitation, and the future of entertainment in this country. People are more powerful than they think […] elected officials can’t do it alone. They need your support, and you can compel action wherever you live by calling and emailing your state legislators and asking them to act. But don’t stop there. Call your allies. Call your pastors and teachers and community leaders. Ask them to call your state legislators as well. Their voices are politically powerful. I believe this fight can be won because all the key bases of political support across the country are on the same side. […]

These kinds of loot boxes and microtransactions are explicitly designed to prey upon and exploit human psychology in the same way casino games are so designed. This is especially true for young adults who child psychologists and other experts explain are particularly vulnerable. These exploitive mechanisms and the deceptive marketing promoting them have no place in games being marketed to minors, and perhaps no place in games at all. […]”

Regarding Star Wars: Battlefront II, an associate design director, Dennis Brännvall hinted on Twitter at the possible arrival of Grievous with just one of his trademark things: „cough!” However, we wonder how many players will remain by the time the character joins the roster…

Source: VTM News, PC Gamer, DualShockers, Reddit, Twitter