Official European Union Consumer Watchdog Organization Calls For Microtransaction Ban and Regulations

It seems that European consumer watchdogs have finally taken note of one of the biggest rackets in gaming: microtransactions. A new report by BEUC, the European Consumer Organization, outlines in detail the problematic nature of microtransactions and specifically in-game currencies. 

The European Consumer Organization, shortened to BEUC per the French acronym “Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs,” is an organization officially supported by the European Union representing 44 independent consumer organizations to “defend the interest of European consumers.” 

"Today, premium in-game currencies are purposefully tricking consumers and take a big toll on children." said Agustin Reyna, the BEUC's Director General, in a press release about the report. "Companies are well aware of children’s vulnerability and use tricks to lure younger consumers into spending more.”

The full report discusses the easy availability of microtransactions to vulnerable audiences, especially children, to whom these purchases are advertised within the apps and/or games, including the likes of the Clash of Clans and Clash Royale games, FIFA 23, and even TikTok, which lets users buy coins for "items" to donate to creators during live streams. 

The highest proposal is a full-on ban of such practices, but there is a list of other recommendations in lieu of a ban. These include prohibiting them from being sold to children, transparency about currency equivalency, behavioral studies, allowing custom currency purchase amounts, and measures to force developers and publishers to be transparent about purchases. 

The report then digs into the predatory practices part of the microtransaction system—usually ones more prominent in mobile games and the like. Much of the thesis is that microtransactions in the form of virtual currencies obfuscate the high costs and true values of the in-game purchases. For example, the psychology of using digital currency instead of real currency is explained, creating a degree of separation between the consumer and their actual spending habits (avoiding a phenomenon called “payment aversion”). Plus, earned currency through the game is often conflated with premium currency, and the terms and conditions about these games strip away consumer rights. 

Games and software apps have become both a hotspot in the battleground of consumer exploitation and also one of the most difficult sects to regulate due to the diverse and quickly-changing nature. This report concludes in part by proposing prioritization of these industries in regulation, including looping in other “national authorities” and developing “cross-sector enforcement cooperation to tackle problematic practices,” including laws and officials in data protection. 

In the past, some countries took game-changing (literally) measures against loot boxes, the industry’s most decried practice. In the Netherlands, certain games with loot boxes had to show what item will be in the next box that the player will “roll.” However, a court overturned this practice in 2022. Last year, a reporter confirmed officially that Dutch government officials were looking for ways to implement a full ban of the practice, though this has yet to come to fruition, while Belgium has officially done so. 

While loot boxes are more immediately obvious as a predatory practice to consumers and industry experts, the shift to microtransactions marks another attempt to make games safer to vulnerable audiences. 

The full report can be found for free on the BEUC’s official site.