EA was facing a fine of €10m for breaking Dutch gambling laws by including packs in FIFA Ultimate Team, but they have successfully overturned the ruling.
This is a big win for EA, not just dodging a large fine, but also getting a ruling in their favour that says obtaining and opening packs, a massive part of the Ultimate Team experience, doesn't constitute gambling.
This is not just an incident that will help the company now but will also be used in the future to support their argument that FIFA loot boxes are not part of a wider gambling aspect of the game, predominantly marketed towards children.
How did we get here?
In October 2020, the Court of The Hague ruled that packs in FIFA Ultimate Team broke Dutch gambling law, and for every week that EA did not pull packs from their latest games they would incur a €500k fine - up to a maximum fine of €10m.
EA planned to appeal the ruling, did not comply by pulling the packs, and racked up the full €10m fine!
The Netherlands Gambling Authority had already declared loot boxes violated the Gambling Act, as they are considered a game of chance, therefore EA would need to acquire a relevant licence to keep the mechanic in the game.
New Ruling
On Wednesday, 9 March, the country's highest court, the Dutch Administrative Jurisdiction Division, overruled the initial judgement from the Hague court, saying EA had not broken gambling laws.
The original judgement viewed the obtaining and opening of packs as part of a separate game, where chance determines the pack contents, therefor EA would need a gambling licence.
The new ruling views packs as "not an isolated game", instead, as a component of a "game of skill", where packs introduced "an element of chance".
The court said:
"Since the packs are not a standalone game, they are not a game of chance and do not require a licence."
"The publisher has therefore not violated the Games of Chance Act and the Gaming Authority should therefore not have imposed a penalty payment on the publisher. The Administrative Jurisdiction Division has 'revoked' the imposed penalty. This means that the penalty payment is off the table."
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