Certain free-to-play models generate more than obvious problems. Anything related to opening loot boxes, regardless of the form they take, will always arouse suspicion due to their similarities with gambling. This is something that will always lead to legal intervention. This has led Pokémon Unite to decide to shut down its servers, at least for now, in two countries of the European Union.
Pokémon Unite will no longer be available in Belgium and the Netherlands starting in 2025, according to an announcement by TiMi Studio Group and The Pokemon Company. Starting October 31, players in those two countries will not be able to purchase Aeos Gems, which are the in-game currency used to buy items and other products.
Although they have not given reasons for this move, considering that the game will continue to be available in the rest of Europe, it seems that the reason is the restrictive gambling laws in both Belgium and the Netherlands. This has led both companies to decide to shut down the servers in these two countries to avoid future problems. They have not clarified the reasons, precisely to avoid associating their product with organized gambling.
Is this something that could happen in other countries? Probably yes. Other countries are trying to push forward different legislative proposals to toughen penalties against gambling, particularly in video games, even taking them to the level of the European Union parliament. Therefore, it would not be surprising if this ends up translating into something that we would see at a continental level and not just at the regional level of these two particular countries.
