Loot boxes don’t meet New Zealand’s legal definition of gambling.
Video game loot boxes are not gambling, according to New Zealand’s gambling regulator.
Speaking to Gamasutra, the Gambling Compliance office of New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs said, “the Department is of the view that loot boxes do not meet the legal definition of gambling.”
Trish Millward, a licensing compliance manager at the Department of Internal Affairs, said her office has been closely following the current loot box discussion that’s happening around the world and doesn’t believe loot boxes qualify as gambling as it’s defined under New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003.
In the wake of Star Wars Battlefront II loot box controversy, United States legislator Chris Lee stepped forward to take a stand against the use of loot boxes, calling it “the spread of predatory practices in online gaming.” Additionally, Belgium’s Gaming Commission is seeking to ban loot boxes in Europe.
Last month, the UK Gambling Commission determined loot boxes don’t qualify as gambling under British law.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.