It seems that Sony PlayStation is obliged to refund some FIFA Ultimate Team packages after a final judgement that they constitute illegal gambling.

An Austrian court has ruled that Sony’s FIFA Ultimate Team packs are illegal gambling. According to the German GamesMarkt website, the ruling is final.

Earlier this year, an Austrian district court ruled in a dispute between several PlayStation FIFA players and SIE Network Europe Ltd. It ruled that the PlayStation manufacturer owed players a refund for Ultimate Team packs purchased from the PlayStation Store. This is because selling playing cards on the secondary market constitutes illegal gambling.

According to a translation of the site’s report, the regional court to which the case would have been appealed said it had received no such motion from Sony’s representatives, so the ruling became final last month.

Sony must now refund hundreds of euros to the plaintiffs. But the Austrian law firm Padronus said hundreds of other players were interested in similar claims.

The Padronus website cites FIFA, Counter-Strike, Fortnite and Call of Duty as examples. They will pursue all kinds of claims in relation to these. Representatives of Sony and EA did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2020, a Dutch court fined EA €10 million after ruling that Ultimate Team had violated gambling laws, but the country’s highest administrative court overturned that decision last year.

Source: GamesMarkt