Sony has just been forced to reimburse FIFA players following a court decision: Ultimate Team packs have been qualified as illegal gambling by an Austrian court.
Earlier this year, an Austrian court ruled in a dispute between several players of FIFA (on PlayStation) to Sony Interactive Entertainment Network Europe Ltd. It has been determined that the manufacturer of PlayStation had to reimburse players for Ultimate Team packs that they had purchased from the PlayStation Store due to the possibility of selling player cards in a secondary market, which qualifies these packs as illegal gambling.
According to the site’s reports, the regional court where the case could have been appealed said it had not received any petitions from Sony representatives, making the decision final as of last month.
FIFA Ultimate Team packs deemed illegal gambling by Austrian court
Sony is now required to reimburse several hundred euros to plaintiffs, but Austrian law firm Padronus said it has hundreds of other gamers interested in bringing similar lawsuits. The Padronus website mentions FIFA, Counter-Strike, Fortnite and Call of Duty as examples of games for which legal action will be taken.
In 2020, a Dutch court fined EA €10 million after ruling that Ultimate Team violated gambling laws. This decision was overturned last year by the country’s highest administrative court.
To read: FIFA 21: an internal leak reveals that EA is pushing players to buy Loot Boxes
All of this raises questions about how games with loot box mechanics are regulated and reported to consumers. Inconsistent and unreliable warnings can make it difficult for players to make informed decisions about their purchases.
At this point, representatives for Sony and EA did not respond to requests for comment.
Source : GamesMarkt
