The authority that regulates gambling in the country of tulips fined the company for the sale of cards by associating them with bets on minors
A judge has just supported the decision of the NGA, the competent authority that regulates gambling in the Netherlands, to require EA to eliminate the FUT card sales system, considering it an illegal form of gambling that affects minors. The agency imposed that for each week that the sales system was active, it would impose a fine of $ 500,000, up to a maximum of $ 5 million. EA responded by taking the agency to court to try to overturn the ruling arguing that at no time have they violated the country’s gambling regulations.
EA will recur
Faced with this first judicial setback against which there is an appeal, the legal representatives of EA have confirmed that they will appeal before judicial instances. In a press release, the company’s manager in the Netherlands, Dirk Scholing, states that “we do not believe that our products or services violate the gambling laws in any way”, adding that “we remain open to discussions with the Netherlands Gambling Authority for explore solutions and tackle problems. “
For its part, the competent authority has been satisfied with the judicial resolution, providing its own press release giving details about the investigation it has been carrying out since 2018 on loot boxes, both with FIFA and with any other game. In fact, both 2K and Blizzard bowed to the same requirement and eliminated the system in their games within the country, only EA decided to defy the threat of a fine in the face of the precedent that would mean that one of the most lucrative parts of their business was considered a “bet”.
The next step in the judicial journey of this case will be one of the four courts of appeal. Above them rises the Hoge Raad, the country’s supreme court, which will have the last word if, as expected, the case reaches its last resort.
