Customer appreciation package not available in Belgium

[Vewen.8016]

I understand that Anet had to conform itself with belgian legislation on the selling of "loot boxes". The new customer appreciation package is unavailable for Belgian players.Giving them away for free shouldn't be an issue, as otherwise providing them as ingame rewards would also be an issue. Is this an error in the black lion store?

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@"Vewen.8016" said:I understand that Anet had to conform itself with belgian legislation on the selling of "loot boxes". The new customer appreciation package is unavailable for Belgian players.Giving them away for free shouldn't be an issue, as otherwise providing them as ingame rewards would also be an issue. Is this an error in the black lion store?

You'd have to double check the Belgian regulations. There's a good chance that giving away loot boxes still falls under their rules. In the mindset of someone who considers all gambling to be subject to government oversight, tempting people with discounts (even 100% discounts) still moves a company from "not applicable" to "applicable."

As an unrealistic example to illustrate the point: a mom & pop corner market would not be able to give customers a free 25 ml "taste" of alcohol, without a liquor license. (It's an imperfect analogy, of course.)

[Ayrilana.1396]

Is it still gambling if the casino gives me a free black chip?

[Vewen.8016]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Is it still gambling if the casino gives me a free black chip?

As i said, then they need to pull GW2 from Belgium completely. So it's ok to give it for free > @Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"Vewen.8016" said:I understand that Anet had to conform itself with belgian legislation on the selling of "loot boxes". The new customer appreciation package is unavailable for Belgian players.Giving them away for free shouldn't be an issue, as otherwise providing them as ingame rewards would also be an issue. Is this an error in the black lion store?

You'd have to double check the Belgian regulations. There's a good chance that giving away loot boxes still falls under their rules. In the mindset of someone who considers all gambling to be subject to government oversight, tempting people with discounts (even 100% discounts) still moves a company from "not applicable" to "applicable."

As an unrealistic example to illustrate the point: a mom & pop corner market would not be able to give customers a free 25 ml "taste" of alcohol, without a liquor license. (It's an imperfect analogy, of course.)

I actually did, I have a legal background and checked the decision of the Belgian Gambling Authority. They only speak of paying lootboxes, where you have to spend money. If you get them for free, it does not fall under their decision. While your example may have some merit from ethical/philosofical perspective, it's not part of the decision. And Anet should differentiate based on that aspect.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

I really have no idea if ANet is being appropriately cautious, overly worried, or just unwilling to put in the code to make it easy to distinguish. I'm just trying to point out that there are issues of which we, as players, will not be aware.

It's down to a combination of what the actual regulations are and how the authorities choose to interpret them and what risk that is perceived to present to a company without specific expertise in gambling regulations.