EA Sued Over Ultimate Team Loot Boxes From FIFA And Madden

A class-action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of people filed in the Northern District of California – the documents require a trial in front of a jury and pay damages in the amount of $ 5 million to the victims.

Claims were made against the mechanics in the Ultimate Team mode, which is found in FIFA and Madden – in it, players buy sets of cards with players from which they collect their own teams for online play. The lawsuit claims they are essentially the same as gambling machines illegal in California.

In the corresponding state law, they are described as “a machine or device where some value is taken for the game, and the player can get something of value in return by chance.”

As plaintiff Kevin Ramirez, speaking on behalf of the aggrieved party, argues in his complaint, Electronic Arts “relies on the dependence of consumers, which brings the company huge revenue,” encouraging players to spend more and more money. Since 2011, Ramirez says he has spent over $ 600 on kits in FIFA and Madden himself.

In the United States, there is currently no precedent on the question of whether loot boxes are gambling. However, the lawsuit notes that Belgium has already banned mechanics with the random dropping off items from paid containers, and the UK House of Lords advised to classify them as gambling.