A Canadian judge has sided against a plaintiff's claims of unlawful gaming and gambling regarding EA's loot boxes, however, the class-action lawsuit will proceed due to other claims made by a legal party.
The report comes via GamesIndustry.Biz, which notes that Judge Justin Fleming has been swayed into allowing the lawsuit to go forward due to loot boxes present in EA games potentially adopting deceptive practices. Plaintiff Mark Sutherland claimed that EA had engaged in unlawful gaming and gambling with its loot boxes, breaching Part Seven of the Criminal Code, however, Judge Fleming wasn't convinced by this claim.
It was instead Sutherland's other claim regarding deceptive acts and practices under British Columbia's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act that has kept the potential lawsuit afloat. The claim came on behalf of British Colombian residents who had been paying for loot boxes in EA games since 2008, which accounts for over 70 titles in total. Judge Fleming has granted Sutherland leave to amend the notice against EA regarding deceptive acts claims, although not the sentiment regarding the unlawfulness of the practice.
This is due to the judge arguing that, unlike gambling, there isn't a way to earn real money or the equivalent of such via EA's own in-game storefront. He goes on to use the likes of casino chips as a comparison, which can be exchanged for real money. Conversely, this isn't the case with EA's items that can be obtained via loot boxes. The judge clarifies that although this can be done via third-party marketplaces, that allegation is unrelated to the initial plea, which specifically pertained to the loot boxes themselves.
EA first started dabbling with loot boxes over 15 years ago with the release of UEFA Champions League 2006-2007, however, they wouldn't make their way over to other EA titles until roughly 18 months later with the release of 2008's FIFA 09. This was also the first FIFA title to include the Ultimate Team game mode, which allows players to spend real money on packs of player cards to build up their own personalized team. Loot boxes have been ubiquitous across numerous EA titles since, and are a continued point of controversy for the publisher.