There is a bit of a debate going on about loot boxes and whether or not they are seen as a fair mechanic and also whether or not it constitutes as gambling. This is because for the most part the loot you get in loot boxes are randomly generated, which in the opinion of some is the same as gambling as players are essentially taking a chance on what they’re paying for.Now it seems that over in South Korea, several gaming companies have been fined over loot boxes. These companies include Nexon, NextFloor, and Netmarble in which they have all been fined in a total of about $950,000. Nexon seems to have taken the brunt of the fine with $875,000 over how they handled the game Sudden Attack.
It is believed that this could be due to how Nexon advertised the game, in which they advertised loot boxes for the game where at least two of the puzzle pieces required to get an in-game bonus were available in these loot boxes sold at $0.85 each. However according to the Korean FTC, they argued that it was advertised in a way where it made consumers believe that the odds of obtaining each piece was the same, but that wasn’t the case as some gamers spent as much as $430 trying to obtain them.
According to the Korea Herald, “The FTC’s actions have signaled alarm across the Korean game sector as it could hurt the sales of in-game items — particularly randomized items, which users tend to continuously buy until they get a desired result — that contribute immensely to profits.”
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