15 US child advocacy groups have asked the FTC to investigate EA over loot boxes

An alliance of 15 child advocacy groups in the US have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Electronic Arts over its use of loot boxes, especially in FIFA.

The coalition, led by Fairplay and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), cited this week’s report by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) as grounds for investigation over whether EA‘s sale of loot boxes “unfairly exploits children and teens for profit”.

As reported by Axios, the coalition has written an open letter to the FTC which details the issues raised in the NCC’s previous report, pointing out specific issues which it feels are harmful to children.

“Fairplay and CDD have highlighted problems with virtual currencies, loot boxes, and other manipulative design techniques in past comments submitted to the Commission on dark patterns,” the letter says.

“Dark patterns exploit kids’ and teens’ developmental vulnerabilities, including their fear of missing out, esteem needs, and sense of social pressure.

“They also place young people on an endless treadmill of game play, all while obscuring game play costs with virtual currency. We urge the Commission to investigate the use of dark patterns in FUT.

The group also express their concern that loot boxes, including those in FIFA, “introduce kids and teens to gambling”.

“The packs resemble slot machines,” the letter reads. “They require a game player to stake something of value (in-game currency) on the possibility of receiving an unknown, random reward in the future, and are accompanied by bright colours and animations.

“Research shows that there are connections between spending money on loot boxes and problem gambling in adolescents. In some cases, young people who have already developed problem gambling behaviors seek out games with loot boxes – for others, loot boxes are a gateway to problem gambling.

“EA may insist that the majority of game players do not spend money in FUT, but the video game industry makes large amounts of money off of big-spending ‘whales’.”

The letter, which is co-signed by Fairplay, the CDD and 13 other advocacy groups including the National Council on Problem Gambling, Truth in Advertising and the Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, asks the FTC to seek the answers to 10 questions:

Earlier this week, 20 consumer groups from 18 European countries launched a coordinated action asking authorities to pass regulations on loot boxes.

Further reading

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18 European countries’ consumer groups have joined the fight against loot boxes

The groups back a Norwegian report calling for a ban on "deceptive design" in video games

The action was based on a report from the NCC – which is also cited and included in full in Fairplay and the CDD’s open letter – entitled “Insert Coin: How the Gaming Industry Exploits Consumers Using Loot Boxes”.

The report accuses companies of exploiting consumers by using mechanisms that it claims are “predatory” and “fostering addiction”.

The NCC’s 59-page document uses FIFA 22 and Raid: Shadow Legends as case studies, claiming: “Both games employ a wide arsenal of tricks to push consumers into spending as much time and money as possible exploiting consumers [who] hope to receive the reward despite a miniscule chance and likelihood to do so.”