EA and Sony loose second instance lootbox case in Austria
– 2 min read
EA and Sony will have to pay back 10,800 euros after a court in Vienna ruled that a plaintiff had spent the money on loot boxes in FIFA games. The publisher is not contesting the second instance ruling, but has criticised the decision and pointed to previous cases it has won.
The first judgement classifying loot boxes as illegal gambling in Austria was decided at the end of February and became final at the end of March. Since then, other lawsuits have been filed in Austria against Sony and Electronic Arts, all of which have essentially the same case: the plaintiffs want the money they spent on FIFA packs, i.e. loot boxes, back. According to media reports, EA has won two such cases in the past, including, according to EA itself, one at the same regional court in Vienna. When contacted, EA confirmed that one of these cases was the one that has now been decided against EA in the second instance. A second case was decided in favour of EA.
However, at the end of June, EA and Sony were ordered to make a further repayment on appeal in the second instance by Austria's largest ordinary court, the Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen in Vienna. EA had won the case in the first instance, but the plaintiffs and Padronus, which funded the litigation, appealed. According to the judgement, the two companies must now jointly repay 10,800 euros in costs. EA disputes the correctness of the verdict, but did not file an appeal during the one-month appeal period and thus did not take the case to the highest level. Richard Eibl, CEO of Padronus, sees this as a tactic not to set a highest court precedent. "From a purely statistical point of view, the probability is less than 10 percent that the Supreme Court will not share the view of the Vienna Regional Court. Sony and EA are aware of this and therefore do not appeal for tactical reasons."
In response to an inquiry from GamesMarkt, the Vienna Regional Court confirmed that the ruling was issued on 27 June 2023 and has been legally binding since 27 July 2023, as EA and Sony did not file an appeal within one month. Sony has so far refused to answer on the case.
An EA spokesperson told GamesMarkt: "We believe that the court's decision is misguided and that both the facts and the law have been misinterpreted in this case. While we have decided not to appeal this decision, which has no further legal implications beyond this individual case, we are confident that our games do not constitute gambling and are in full compliance with all local laws. Regulators and courts around the world have ruled in favour of EA in similar cases. The same state court that ruled in this case also ruled in our favour in another case. We develop our games to provide fair and valuable gameplay for millions of players around the world, and we are committed to ensuring that our Austrian players continue to have access to the same games and features as millions of other players who enjoy our games.
