Discussion on lootboxes is still going strong, but it's not yet clear if they can be considered gambling since opinions differ on the matter. According to New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs, they do not meet the legal definition of gambling.
Answering to an email from Gamasutra, Trish Milward from the Gambling Compliance office of its Department of Internal Affairs stated that lootboxes cannot be considered as gambling under New Zealand's law.
According to Trish Millward, a licensing compliance manager at the DIA, her office has been following the international debate closely. But, she said, they do not think that lootboxes meet the legal definition of gambling under New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003. She added that, in any case, it was not illegal for New Zealanders to gamble online with overseas providers.
This view is on the opposite side of that of Hawaii State representatives Chris Lee and Sean Quinlan, who see lootboxes as gambling and want to introduce some sort of regulation.
For this particular game, I think EA is between a rock and a hard place, but we as consumers have a short memory. I’m sure they will try something like this very soon. As someone who has watched EA develop over the years and consume some of my favorite studios and destroy so many franchises, I don’t think this is going away. And I’m definitely going to stick to this. It’s an important issue for me.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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