The “loot box” or loot box system has been under scrutiny by government agencies for years, and while many games have instead embraced battle passes to extract extra money from their players, some titles continue to offer “surprise mechanics” for its audience. FIFA Ultimate Team packs are one of the biggest examples of this, and an Austrian court recently ruled (thanks, Insider Gaming) that they are illegal under the Austrian Gambling Act of 1989.
This case dates back to 2020, when an Austrian teenager reported that Sony allowed him to bet on his platform. Similar lawsuits have taken place, with many claiming that the hundreds of euros they lost on FIFA packs were due to Sony allowing this form of play on PlayStation.
Although the Austrian court ruled that Sony should reimburse the FIFA packs, this This was only for the original requesterand refunds only amounted to around 338.26 euros, a pittance for the platform owner.