Project Audit for Gambling Features

For instance, the Belgian Gaming Commission, after reviewing publishers such as Valve, EA, and Blizzard, concluded that loot boxes meet the legal definition of gambling. Under Belgian law, gambling occurs when there are winners and losers, and the outcome depends not on player skill but on chance. Additionally, the reward must have value and be tradable. This definition also extends to games where players can purchase in-game items with real money.
Companies that failed to comply were ordered to remove illegal gambling elements. Failure to do so may result in criminal liability: up to five years in prison and fines of up to €800,000. As a result, these publishers lost revenue from Belgian players and from other countries that imposed similar restrictions.

To reduce the risk of your game being classified as gambling, it is essential to carefully design how players obtain, trade, or purchase in-game items.
Since each jurisdiction defines “gambling” differently, developers must account for the laws of every market where the game will be released. The main risk factors are:

• elements of chance;
• the presence of winners and losers;
• the possibility of selling or profiting from winnings.

Our legal team at Law and Trust provides a detailed analysis of your product to identify potential gambling features. Based on the results, we create tailored solutions to minimize legal risks.

How to Reduce Risk

1. Limiting jurisdictions
   We help clients identify jurisdictions that impose strict bans on online gambling and consider loot boxes or microtransactions as gambling. If a client wishes to keep these features, we recommend focusing on more favorable jurisdictions and restricting access only where necessary (e.g., Belgium). In practice, this means blocking prohibited mechanics for players in specific regions and monitoring attempts to bypass restrictions. Note that the number of jurisdictions regulating loot boxes as gambling continues to grow each year.
2. Removing gambling elements
   The most effective way to mitigate liability is to legally and strategically remove high-risk mechanics. Our team pinpoints features likely to be classified as gambling and advises on how to minimize or eliminate them. Special attention is given to item trading, prize value, and drop rate transparency.
3. Obtaining a gambling license
   If the client chooses to retain mechanics that meet the legal definition of gambling, the safest route is to obtain an official license. This is especially relevant for games where loot boxes are a core feature, or for platforms that distribute in-game items through raffles, random draws, or similar methods.
   Our lawyers have been assisting clients with gambling licenses (online and offline) since 2003 in more than 13 jurisdictions.