The news has shaken up the hornet’s nest about the popular game mode Ultimate Team. And it is that according to a court in Austria, FIFA Ultimate Team packs are bets. The original news has been brought to the public by Games Wirtschaft, and this time the country that is involved in this maelstrom of controversy is Austria itself and its laws regulating chance and betting.
The district court of Hermagor, in Austria, has ended up agreeing with several FIFA Ultimate Team users who sued Sony back in the year 2020, so this lawsuit has already had its long journey in the courts, and now its resolution has been carried out.
FIFA Ultimate Team envelopes are bets according to an Austrian court
In theory, the lawsuit claimed that these users, including a minor, they would have bet close to more than 300 euros on the mechanics of FIFA Ultimate Teamand in case someone does not know the subject, to get players in this game mode you have to resort to rewards or the purchase of envelopes with real money.
These envelopes promise true random contentsince even if you buy, you may not end up with the players you are looking for, so there has always been some criticism regarding this type of mechanics and policies within a video game.
According to the court ruling, FIFA packs have the possibility of having a higher or lower monetary value than the pack itself when purchased. This makes it a possible “financial benefit” for those who receive an item of valueand that would violate the Austrian Gaming Act, the law on Video Games in Austria.
In this case, the lawyer for the boys who sued Sony argued that the ability to spend real money in FIFA’s random pack systemcould be in breach of Austrian gambling laws, and all fingers and eyes turned to Sony.
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That is why finally and as a resolution, the judge in the case has ordered that the refund of 338.26 euros be issued. After this opinion, neither Electronic Arts nor Sony have yet ruled on the matter, nor is it known whether this decision will be appealed or not.