Many players will be getting EA FC 24 for Christmas, but some are talking about the dangers of the Ultimate Team loot boxes in the game.
Last year, EA Sports FIFA 23 topped the New Year’s game charts with a massive 67% increase in sales in the week leading up to the big day. There’s no doubt that many gamers of all ages are hoping that the new EA FC 24 will be under the tree while their parents shop and Santa burns their reindeer.
Every month, 8 million people play EA’s ever-evolving hit, which has come a long way since its launch in 1993. One such big step forward is the introduction of Ultimate Team.
The platform allows users to create clubs and buy players with in-game coins and real money.One way to do this is by using the EA FC pack. This pack costs £75 and £3.99 real money in EA FC 24.
Players will randomly select players and items that will only be unlocked after purchasing these packs and spending money. For some users, this feature has serious consequences.
In recent years, players have become addicted to in-game spending and have been warned about the use of “loot box” gambling in FIFA packs.One Mumsnet user said her son lost £6,000 playing games during the lockdown.
After finding out, the 13-year-old admitted she couldn’t stop and spent the weekend in tears after being “separated from her family”. In 2019, the BBC spoke to a parent in Hampshire who spent £550 on the game after seeing four of his children score less than 10 cards.
The father said the teenager “didn’t understand the impact of what he was doing”. EA FC SAF Cal trader recently shared his story online. Traders bring experience to the gambling markets and SAF Cal has over 278,000 followers.
When SAF visited Cal The trader advised his followers: “Even though FIFA Points is not legally considered gambling, you still get to experience the highs and lows that you experience when betting. As addicts, we follow it.
Sometimes we don’t realize how destructive and costly stalking can be. “Personally, I think there needs to be a change. FIFA Points can be as much fun as the lottery, but unlike other forms of gambling, there are no safeguards to prevent addicts from getting out of hand and losing money .
No no .”Some countries restrict the use of these packs in their games. After several FIFA players sued Sony in 2020, including a minor who “played” €400 on FIFA packs earlier this year, an Austrian court recognized the packs as a form of gambling.
Austrian litigation funder Padronus said more than 1,000 FIFA players had contacted the company to file claims averaging €800 and up to €85,000.
The loot box system was considered to violate Austrian gambling laws due to the potential for “financial gain”, as the items won could be higher or lower than the price of the pack.
In the UK, the Gambling Commission has identified loot boxes such as EA FC packs as a “potential risk to children and young people”, but they are not classified as gambling.
According to Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller, in 2017 the commission experienced “an enormous amount of interest in loot boxes”. “A key factor in determining whether a [gambling law] limit is exceeded is whether in-game items acquired ‘by gambling’ can be considered money or have monetary value,” Miller explains.
In effect, this means that genuine in-game items won through the lottery can only be used in-game and cannot be cashed out. “The likelihood of getting caught for licensed gambling is low,” he said.
