The Dutch news site NOS has reported that PUBG, Dota 2, Fifa18, and Rocket League are all in violation of the Better Gaming Act, making loot boxes in these games illegal. The Netherlands Gaming Authority came to the decision after closely examining loot boxes in 10 separate games. Although the Authority did not say which four games were in violation, they did say that it is only games where Loot Box items are tradeable, which puts the four games above directly on the spotlight. The games will have until June 20 – just over two months – to correct the mechanics in their games or they could face fines or bans across the country.

Marja Appelman, the director of the Gaming Authority, explained that even though only four games were in violation of the Act, all games with Loot Boxes created an environment that fed into addiction and gambling.

The ruling comes down after a study performed by the Gaming Authority revealed that four of the games were in violation of gaming laws due to their ability to be traded for monetary value. The study was quick to note that there is no empirical evidence that has linked Loot Boxes with traditional gambling addiction. For instance, there were no cases of individuals going into debt or borrowing money to further their addiction to Loot Boxes, all of which are common among traditional gambling. However, the study did note that while Loot Boxes were not at the same level, they still found them intentionally addictive and targeted at minors, which means that they could still face further scrutiny in the future.

This news is similar to actions taken by the Korean government against Loot Boxes just this month. While the government did not find Loot Boxes addictive, they did find two companies – Nexon and Netmarble – in violation of gambling laws which require them to reveal the odds of Loot Boxes.

Because Loot Boxes have thus far managed to escape being labeled as gambling or addictive per se, they have continued to operate largely without regulation. In fact, Juniper Research has indicated that at this rate, Loot Boxes alone will account for a $50 billion industry by 2022.

The Netherlands ruling will certainly cause a reexamination of Loot Boxes from many bodies, but until any official ruling comes in – especially from countries like America and China, the two largest buyers of Loot Boxes – game companies will almost certainly continue to utilize them.