{"id":153984,"date":"2020-10-31T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T14:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=153984"},"modified":"2020-10-31T18:23:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-01T01:23:06","slug":"dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Regulator Fines Electronic Arts \u20ac10 Million for \u2018Gambling Elements\u2019 in FIFA Video Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Video games giant Electronic Arts<\/a> has vowed to appeal a \u20ac10 million ($11.7) fine handed down by Holland\u2019s gambling regulator, Ksa, for violating the country\u2019s Betting and Gaming Act. The regulator found that the loot boxes available in EA\u2019s globally popular FIFA series of games contained \u201cgambling elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Electronic
Electronic Arts claimed the prohibition of FUT packs was an infringement of its freedom of expression, an argument that did not wash with a court in the Hague, Netherlands. (Image: EA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Loot boxes are virtual items attainable through gameplay or in-game microtransactions that offer a random chance to win other virtual items of varying desirability. In FIFA, gamers can spend real money to purchase FIFA Ultimate Team packs (FUT packs). Those offer randomized chances to unlock soccer players, with the goal of assembling the ultimate team.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this element of real money, coupled with a chance-based reward, that concerns the Dutch regulator, as well, of course, as the game\u2019s appeal to those under the legal gambling age.<\/p>\n

The Ksa believes it is crucial to shield vulnerable groups, such as minors, from exposure to gambling,” the regulator said in its ruling.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“For that reason, the Ksa supports a strict separation between gaming and gambling. Gamers are often young and therefore particularly susceptible to developing an addiction. As such, gambling elements have no place in games,” it added.<\/p>\n

EA \u2018Reputational Damage\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

EA has always fiercely denied<\/a> that the loot boxes in its games constitute gambling. The company was warned by the Ksa in April 2018 that it did not share this view. The regulator gave it eight weeks to modify all its games on the Dutch market so that they complied with the law. This, EA failed to do.<\/p>\n

The Ksa actually imposed the fine in October 2019. But EA contested it and attempted to block it from becoming public knowledge. EA said disclosing the fine to the public would disproportionately harm its business and hurt its reputation.<\/p>\n

But this week a District Court in the Hague upheld the fine. The court ruled that the public\u2019s right to know about unlawful commercial practices outweighed EA’s desire to protect its reputation.<\/p>\n

Nothing of Value?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In its defense, EA argued that FUT packs could not be gambling because they do not offer anything of real-world value and cannot be converted into real money. But the court noted there are ways to profit from Ultimate Team cards, which can be valued at nearly \u20ac2,000.<\/p>\n

In response to the argument that the Ksa\u2019s decision to prohibit FUT packs violated EA\u2019s right to \u201cproperty and freedom of expression,\u201d the court responded that EA still owns the rights to the game. Meanwhile, it added, \u201cthe Betting and Gaming Act’s existence assumes that the interests of society to regulate games of chance outweigh the interest to preserve people’s freedom to express themselves through games of chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, EA said: “Players all over the world have enjoyed FIFA and the FIFA Ultimate Team mode for many years, and, as such, we are disappointed by this decision and what it may mean for our Dutch community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe that our products and services violate gambling laws in any way. We are appealing this decision and we seek to avoid a situation impacting the ability of Dutch players to fully experience and enjoy FIFA Ultimate Team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Video games giant Electronic Arts has vowed to appeal a \u20ac10 million ($11.7) fine handed down by Holland\u2019s gambling regulator, Ksa, for violating the country\u2019s Betting and Gaming Act. The regulator found that the loot boxes available in EA\u2019s globally popular FIFA series of games contained \u201cgambling elements.\u201d Loot boxes are virtual items attainable through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":153985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHolland Fines Electronic Arts \u20ac10 Million for FIFA Gambling Elements<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Electronic Arts (EA) says it plans to appeal \u20ac10 million fine that imposed by Dutch regulator over FIFA Ultimate Team packs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Holland Fines Electronic Arts \u20ac10 Million for FIFA Gambling Elements\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Electronic Arts (EA) says it plans to appeal \u20ac10 million fine that imposed by Dutch regulator over FIFA Ultimate Team packs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-31T14:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-01T01:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FUT.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1267\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/\",\"name\":\"Holland Fines Electronic Arts \u20ac10 Million for FIFA Gambling Elements\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FUT.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-31T14:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-01T01:23:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Electronic Arts (EA) says it plans to appeal \u20ac10 million fine that imposed by Dutch regulator over FIFA Ultimate Team packs\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/dutch-regulator-fines-ea-e10-million-for-gambling-elements-in-fifa\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FUT.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FUT.jpg\",\"width\":1900,\"height\":1267,\"caption\":\"EA claimed that the prohibition of FUT packs was an infringement of its freedom of expression, an argument that did not wash with a court in the Hague, Netherlands. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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