EA CEO States Why Loot Boxes Are Not Gambling

Since the release of Star Wars Battlefront 2, a serious debate has surfaced whether loot boxes constitute as gambling. Governments around the world have launched investigations into the matter with Belgium and the Netherlands declaring loot boxes are gambling. Despite this many figures in the industry have maintained that video game loot boxes did not count as gambling and EA's CEO Andrew Wilson in the company's latest financial call defended the business model.

Andrew Wilson stated "we don't believe that FIFA Ultimate Team or loot boxes are gambling." for those unaware FIFA Ultimate Team allows users to purchase packs containing players, cosmetics, and consumables. Wilson stated that card packs contain a "specific number of items" and EA doesn't "authorize any way to cash out digital items or virtual currency for real-world money. And there's no real-world value assign to in-game items".

Wilson stated that the company is aware that third-party sites that do provide real-world currency for virtual items and are working with regulators to crack down on these practices.

This isn't surprising considering that FIFA Ultimate Team is one of EA's most profitable investments. However, many regulators don't agree with the company on loot boxes. Regulations could force EA to change these practices even if the company maintains the notion that loot boxes are not gambling.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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