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Blizzard Disables Loot Boxes in Belgium
Blizzard announced that paying for loot boxes in Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm has been removed for Belgium Players due to their Gaming Commission’s report from Apri, the option falls under gambling according to local law.
While Blizzard disagrees with this decision, they have removed the option in order to comply with this decision. Players will still be able to attain the boxes by performing well in-game, such as leveling up in Overwatch, or by purchasing them with in-game currency. In-game content has not been affected by this removal.
In April 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission published a report that was endorsed by the Belgian Ministry of Justice in which they concluded that paid loot boxes in Overwatch are considered gambling under local law. While we at Blizzard were surprised by this conclusion and do not share the same opinion, we have decided to comply with their interpretation of Belgian law. As a result, we have no choice but to implement measures that will prevent Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm players located in Belgium from purchasing in-game loot boxes and loot chests with real money and gems.
No matter what, we want to make sure that our players around the world have the best entertainment experience possible. While players in Belgium will no longer be able to purchase paid loot boxes in Overwatch and loot chests in Heroes of the Storm, they’ll still be able to earn them by playing the games, and they’ll still have access to all in-game content.
These measures will be implemented shortly. We also remain open to further discussions with the Belgian Gaming Commission and Ministry of Justice on this topic.
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Lebon30
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Joined: 2018-04-02
#5578681 Posted on: 08/28/2018 08:26 AM
Well done Belgium!
Well done Belgium!
Venix
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Senior Member
Posts: 675
Joined: 2016-08-01
#5578690 Posted on: 08/28/2018 08:50 AM
Way to go Belgium ! Now i hope other countries will follow!
Way to go Belgium ! Now i hope other countries will follow!
slyphnier
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Senior Member
Posts: 537
Joined: 2009-11-30
#5578795 Posted on: 08/28/2018 01:26 PM
if other country not following belgium, then maybe its bad for belgium gamer
because basically they cant buy any in-game "loot-box" like rest of world
but rather than the rules, i more curious how blizzard going to implant it ?
i guess they just filtering using account registration, so belgium = no loot-box ,
but then people that selecting US or other than belgium when registration bypassing it...
so basically even if you in belgium, as long u select other country when registering the account, you will still can buy loot-box
in the end, i guess nothing going to change anytime soon
if other country not following belgium, then maybe its bad for belgium gamer
because basically they cant buy any in-game "loot-box" like rest of world
but rather than the rules, i more curious how blizzard going to implant it ?
i guess they just filtering using account registration, so belgium = no loot-box ,
but then people that selecting US or other than belgium when registration bypassing it...
so basically even if you in belgium, as long u select other country when registering the account, you will still can buy loot-box
in the end, i guess nothing going to change anytime soon
Netherwind
Senior Member
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Joined: 2009-11-13
Senior Member
Posts: 6127
Joined: 2009-11-13
#5578813 Posted on: 08/28/2018 02:06 PM
Get rid of loot boxes worldwide and make publishers sell specific items instead.
airbud7
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Senior Member
Posts: 6390
Joined: 2011-07-20
#5578817 Posted on: 08/28/2018 02:13 PM
Why they take away the prize? ...I remember prizes in the bottom of a cereal box...they were fun, my little bro got mad when I got it first!
Why they take away the prize? ...I remember prizes in the bottom of a cereal box...they were fun, my little bro got mad when I got it first!
schmidtbag
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Joined: 2012-11-10
Senior Member
Posts: 3602
Joined: 2012-11-10
#5578865 Posted on: 08/28/2018 03:42 PM
They still have em once in a while. About a year ago I got a Spiderman wrist-mounted water squirter. I forget what cereal it was. It was surprisingly pretty good. Felt like a kid again.
Until I had drive into work later that same day...
Why they take away the prize? ...I remember prizes in the bottom of a cereal box...they were fun, my little bro got mad when I got it first!
They still have em once in a while. About a year ago I got a Spiderman wrist-mounted water squirter. I forget what cereal it was. It was surprisingly pretty good. Felt like a kid again.
Until I had drive into work later that same day...
Kool64
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Posts: 56
Joined: 2006-10-21
Member
Posts: 56
Joined: 2006-10-21
#5578897 Posted on: 08/28/2018 04:54 PM
I should totally be for this decision HOWEVER I am not because if they(the government) told me I can't have something that will just make me want to buy it even more. I get they "why" I just don't like the outcome.
I should totally be for this decision HOWEVER I am not because if they(the government) told me I can't have something that will just make me want to buy it even more. I get they "why" I just don't like the outcome.
TheDeeGee
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Joined: 2010-08-28
Senior Member
Posts: 5666
Joined: 2010-08-28
#5578913 Posted on: 08/28/2018 05:31 PM
Not able to buy anything with earned Gems from Progress either.
Not sure there is a point to play Heroes of the Storm anymore then.
Not able to buy anything with earned Gems from Progress either.
Not sure there is a point to play Heroes of the Storm anymore then.
Reddoguk
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Joined: 2010-05-26
Senior Member
Posts: 1622
Joined: 2010-05-26
#5578975 Posted on: 08/28/2018 07:34 PM
Just remove the gamble part and it'll be fine. They don't mind loot boxes themselves it's the stuff that's inside them that's the problem. You might have to spend 1000's in order to get the item you want when another kid might get it first try. Hence it's a way of allowing children gambling away their money on a product they have already paid for once. Just stop it and allow players to buy what ever they want without having to gamble for it.
It should be law in the UK too since it's illegal to gamble under the age of 18.
Just remove the gamble part and it'll be fine. They don't mind loot boxes themselves it's the stuff that's inside them that's the problem. You might have to spend 1000's in order to get the item you want when another kid might get it first try. Hence it's a way of allowing children gambling away their money on a product they have already paid for once. Just stop it and allow players to buy what ever they want without having to gamble for it.
It should be law in the UK too since it's illegal to gamble under the age of 18.
RealNC
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Senior Member
Posts: 2742
Joined: 2011-11-24
#5578990 Posted on: 08/28/2018 07:58 PM
They didn't take away the prize. You get lootboxes while you play, even in Belgium.
Why they take away the prize?
They didn't take away the prize. You get lootboxes while you play, even in Belgium.
airbud7
Senior Member
Posts: 6390
Joined: 2011-07-20
Senior Member
Posts: 6390
Joined: 2011-07-20
#5578992 Posted on: 08/28/2018 08:02 PM
They still have em once in a while. About a year ago I got a Spiderman wrist-mounted water squirter. I forget what cereal it was. It was surprisingly pretty good. Felt like a kid again.
Until I had drive into work later that same day...
hahaha^ ...i do that to/ Lol
PS: I trade you a baseball card for your wrist-mounted water squirter!
:p
They still have em once in a while. About a year ago I got a Spiderman wrist-mounted water squirter. I forget what cereal it was. It was surprisingly pretty good. Felt like a kid again.
Until I had drive into work later that same day...
hahaha^ ...i do that to/ Lol
PS: I trade you a baseball card for your wrist-mounted water squirter!
:p
Aitortxo
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Posts: 38
Joined: 2004-08-15
Member
Posts: 38
Joined: 2004-08-15
#5579125 Posted on: 08/29/2018 05:11 AM
Good for Belgium! Hopefully other European countries will follow. Some companies are so damn greedy the only way to stop them is slapping some law in their face. Activision never learn the lesson and will come up with some fishy alternative though...
Good for Belgium! Hopefully other European countries will follow. Some companies are so damn greedy the only way to stop them is slapping some law in their face. Activision never learn the lesson and will come up with some fishy alternative though...
RzrTrek
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Joined: 2012-04-16
Senior Member
Posts: 1957
Joined: 2012-04-16
#5579134 Posted on: 08/29/2018 06:08 AM
As much as I want loot boxes and gambling elements to go, it's sad that it had to be put into law and banned. We should have been louder 5 years ago instead of handing the keys over to our self entitled politicians who have a much darker agenda. Now they get the fame and can portray as the heroes (which they clearly aren't) but now that it's done I do believe there's room for some celebration.
As much as I want loot boxes and gambling elements to go, it's sad that it had to be put into law and banned. We should have been louder 5 years ago instead of handing the keys over to our self entitled politicians who have a much darker agenda. Now they get the fame and can portray as the heroes (which they clearly aren't) but now that it's done I do believe there's room for some celebration.
slyphnier
Senior Member
Posts: 537
Joined: 2009-11-30
Senior Member
Posts: 537
Joined: 2009-11-30
#5579195 Posted on: 08/29/2018 09:31 AM
Just remove the gamble part and it'll be fine. They don't mind loot boxes themselves it's the stuff that's inside them that's the problem. You might have to spend 1000's in order to get the item you want when another kid might get it first try. Hence it's a way of allowing children gambling away their money on a product they have already paid for once. Just stop it and allow players to buy what ever they want without having to gamble for it.
It should be law in the UK too since it's illegal to gamble under the age of 18.
that gamble-part which is "grey"-part i believe
afaik blizzard make in-game item craft-able
so like in hearthstone / heroes of the storm, you buy loot-box, but then u didnt get what u want
those duplicates from loot-box automatically turn to "shards"
then u can use those "shards" to craft what u want, so eventually u get what u want
so there is gambling part, but if we look the whole picture, you basically need to paid certain amount of money for the item what u want (after certain amount of money, u will have enough "shards" things to get item you want), and thats not really gambling
Just remove the gamble part and it'll be fine. They don't mind loot boxes themselves it's the stuff that's inside them that's the problem. You might have to spend 1000's in order to get the item you want when another kid might get it first try. Hence it's a way of allowing children gambling away their money on a product they have already paid for once. Just stop it and allow players to buy what ever they want without having to gamble for it.
It should be law in the UK too since it's illegal to gamble under the age of 18.
that gamble-part which is "grey"-part i believe
afaik blizzard make in-game item craft-able
so like in hearthstone / heroes of the storm, you buy loot-box, but then u didnt get what u want
those duplicates from loot-box automatically turn to "shards"
then u can use those "shards" to craft what u want, so eventually u get what u want
so there is gambling part, but if we look the whole picture, you basically need to paid certain amount of money for the item what u want (after certain amount of money, u will have enough "shards" things to get item you want), and thats not really gambling
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Get rid of loot boxes worldwide and make publishers sell specific items instead.