Lootboxes present in titles such as Star Wars Battlefront II and CoD WWII can be considered gambling, according to Belgium’s Minister of Justice.

　　Last week we reported on how the Belgium Gaming Commission started an investigation into the presence of ‘lootboxes’ in recent games, and whether they can be considered gambling. Following this announcement, Belgium’s Minister of Justice, Koen Geens, has now said that mixing gambling and gaming is dangerous for the mental health of children, and wants to ban features like lootboxes in Europe if one doesn’t know what is exactly being bought.  “Mixing gaming and gambling is dangerous for the mental health of children, especially at a young age.”, Geens told VTM.

　　Banning gambling from games will take time however, the Belgium Minister notes. “But it takes time because we have to go to Europe with this”, he said, probably referring to the European Parliament. “We will definitely try to ban it”, he added.

　　The Dutch Gaming Commission also announced an investigation into lootboxes last week, and it will be interesting to learn how other governments will deal with this new phenomenon

　　We will keep you updated on this matter.