Austria's Supreme Court has just delivered a ruling that has the potential to send shockwaves through the video game industry, as it declares that the loot boxes found in EA Sports FC and in its FC Ultimate Mode "do not constitute gambling," a ruling that EA is only too happy to accept.
Reported by GamesMarkt, while the ruling states that the lootboxes in EA Sports FC are not gambling, it still adds that gambling is part of the equation. "In this video game, despite the random allocation of individual content from the Packs, the human player can use their own skills to control the course of the game with a probability suitable for success, thus establishing a rational expectation of winning," the court wrote.
In response to the ruling, EA told GamesIndustry.Biz, "We welcome the decision from the Austrian Supreme Court confirming that EA Sports FC and FC Ultimate Team mode do not constitute gambling. The decision, which is final, brings much-needed clarity to both industry and Austrian players."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the case, Austrian litigation funder Padronus, who represented Austrian gamers in this class-action suit, said, "We consider the judgment to be legally flawed and will wait to see whether other judges of the Supreme Court share a different view regarding our other pending cases."
Whether or not loot boxes like the Packs available in EA Sports FC are gambling has been a hotly contested issue in video games for years now. In 2024, a different Austrian court came to the same conclusion that these loot boxes are not gambling. Meanwhile, Brazil's president recently signed a ban on loot boxes that will go into effect in March 2026, and Brazil is not the only country to put forth the idea of a ban on loot boxes altogether.
While the decision on this specific case is final, legal researcher Leon Xiao told GI.Biz that this may encourage "Austrian legislators to want to make stricter laws" when it comes to loot boxes. He also added that the ruling doesn't exactly come as a surprise, considering the fact that most gambling laws are not written with loot boxes directly informing their language.
Whether those stricter laws are proposed and how they're packaged remains to be seen, but for now, EA has another ruling in its favour it can use going forward, especially if it does end up having to fight government regulation in regions that have a huge impact on the sales of EA Sports FC, like the UK.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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