Supercell allegedly violated California’s Penal Code 330a,330b, and 330.1, which stated that video games with loot boxes as gambling devices.
According to the lawsuit, “California’s gambling device statutes are broad in their coverage and prohibit any person from owning, renting, or possessing illegal gambling devices. An illegal gambling device has three features:
- It is a machine, apparatus, or device (coin operation is not required);
- Something of value is given to play the device; and
- The player has the opportunity to receive something of value by any element of hazard or chance (“something of value” is not limited to coins, bills, or tokens—it also includes free replays, additional playing time, redemption tickets, gift cards, game credits, or anything else with a value, monetary or otherwise.)”
Under California law, they are illegal “since they are played on a mobile phone, tablet, computer, or other similar devices.”
Buying a Loot Box is not an “in-kind” purchase, but a gamble, the plaintiff contends, because the gamer has no idea what the Loot Box contains until it is opened. It is all based on “randomized chances.”
