As a part of a law focused on protecting Brazil's youth online, a ban on loot boxes for those under 18 in Brazil has been signed into law by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and will go into effect in March 2026, per a report from Eurogamer.
Specifically, when the law goes into effect in March, as it currently stands, games that have loot boxes will have to be rated as 18+, and any rated below that will be prohibited from including them.
It's the latest update in governing bodies across the world, looking more closely at loot boxes in videogames. In 2023, the Dutch government put forth a motion to ban loot boxes in games altogether, and back in 2018, Belgium also banned loot boxes, prompting the sale of FIFA points to cease in the region.
There's also been cases of lawsuits brought to game companies over loot boxes, and whether they constitute gambling. Though there have been rulings pointing towards them not being gambling, they remain a controversial element of modern gaming's live service era.
It'll be interesting to see how strictly this current ban in Brazil is enforced, and how game companies respond to the new law once it officially goes into effect in March of next year. Even before then, we could likely see companies lobbying in an attempt to change the law, so that we don't have a case of, as a hypothetical, EA Sports FC being rated as 18+ in Brazil, and as a game suitable for children everywhere else.
Though if the ban does prove effective, it could be that one of the videogame industry's largest sticking points is slowly changed through further legislation, like what Brazil is implementing in other parts of the world.
Update 02/02/2026: Austria's Supreme Court ruled that loot boxes in EA Sports FC and FC Ultimate Mode are not gambling, showcasing how legislative bodies across the world still hold differing opinions on whether loot boxes really are gambling or not.
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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