Austrian court orders Sony to compensate gamers for loot boxes in FIFA

Court in Austria acknowledged loot boxes (virtual boxes with a random set of items) in the football simulator FIFA as a form of gambling and ordered Sony to pay compensation to gamers. In 2020, Austrian PlayStation users sued Sony, alleging that they lost over €400 on FIFA’s loot box mechanics. The court ordered Sony to return €338.

The FIFA video game series is being developed by the American company Electronic Arts, but Sony is responsible for processing payments on the PlayStation, so the lawsuit was not directed against the developer. FIFA has FIFA Ultimate Team Paid Packs that randomly drop Club Items or Football Star Players. A court in Austria has ruled that loot boxes in FIFA may be of greater or lesser value depending on the content and provide a financial benefit to those lucky enough to receive more valuable items – this violates Austrian gaming law. Sony has not yet commented on this case and has the right to appeal. In January 2023, the European Parliament accepted resolution calling for stricter regulation of loot boxes and microtransactions in video games.

Evgeny Fedunenko