If publishers had hoped that the loot box controversy had blown over, they can think again. Last month, the UK government responded to a petition about loot crates stating that until they see a direct financial correlation to boxes, they consider them not to be gambling. However, they added that they are watching the situation closely, and shortly after the UK’s closer look at loot boxes, Belgium announced that their gambling authority has started investigating Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Overwatch.

EA has had quite a lot of trouble in the past few days, the most recent with Wednesday’s AMA, but now they, and Battlefront 2, are back in the spotlight for loot boxes. Blizzard has also taken a great interest in the loot box controversy, mostly because Overwatch has done more than any other game to popularize loot boxes and bring them to the forefront. In this regard, Blizzard as the company that brought loot boxes into the spotlight and EA as the company that has exploited them, it makes sense that they are the two to be investigated. The big question, though, is just how serious this investigation is.

Well, it isn’t as if Belgium has a special authority over the rest of Europe or even the world. However, if a country censors or reprimands any of the biggest gaming publishers for loot boxes, it is almost certainly going to cause many other countries to start taking a closer look, especially when fines and cash become involved. If Belgium finds either company guilty, they could fine them in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even have the game removed for sale.

The reason Belgium is the first country to take a serious look is that they require companies to hold a permit from the Gaming Commission if they plan on dealing in any form of gambling. Additionally, Belgium holds gambling as a very dangerous economic service, treating it as an addiction that can afflict nearly anyone. The biggest concern for game companies and Belgium lies in the fact that any game of chance could fall under their gambling laws, because anything which could cause a person to become addicted and to lose a large sum of money is within the scope and interest of their Gaming Commission.

While most regulatory bodies have sided in favor of the game companies, the recent wave of backlash against EA as well as the recent petitions in the UK may be giving some of these groups pause, especially when the condemnation of EA on Reddit is now creeping towards one million.

One thing is for sure. Even if Belgium decides not to fine Blizzard or EA, this fight is hardly over.