Please note that all my articles are for informational purposes only and not legal advice. I assume no liability for the content of my articles. The articles may be out of date, the legal situation may have changed, or the specific situation in a case may need to be assessed differently. A binding consultation can only be given by me directly in the individual case. Take advantage of my free brief consultation!
Google Play Requires Disclosure of Lootbox Probabilities
Only recently there was a lot of debate in relevant forums as to whether loot boxes should actually be regarded as a gamble in Germany. The lawyer’s answer to this is probably “It depends!“. A few legal explanations on the subject can be found in this article by me.
Google also reacted at the end of May and released new Google Play Terms and Conditions:
“Apps offering mechanisms to receive randomized virtual items from a purchase (i.e. ‘loot boxes’) must clearly disclose the odds of receiving those items in advance of purchase”
This means that Google Play requirements are the same as in Apple’s App Store.
Due to the legal situation, I can currently only advise every game developer to have their own mechanisms, terms and conditions and gameplay legally checked. It is precisely after these changes that the first warnings are not likely to be far away.
By the way, when looking at the topic, the question arises whether the monetization model Free2Play is permissible at all 🙂 Two articles by me on the subject can be found below
Marian Härtel is a lawyer and entrepreneur specializing in copyright law, competition law and IT/IP law, with a focus on games, esports, media and blockchain.
