Apple Could be Facing a $5 Million Class Action Suit Over Loot Boxes

On Friday, Apple Inc was slapped with a $5 million class-action lawsuit over the use of loot boxes in the games and applications that are available on its App Store. According to the plaintiff of the complaint filed in California’s Northern District Court suit, Apple is complicit to the promotion of gambling and addictive behavior by giving developers room to market games and applications that have these loot boxes

Rebecca Taylor, the plaintiff of the case alleges that her son parted with $25 by buying iTunes gift cards that he then used to unlock loot boxes in the highly acclaimed Brawl Stars mobile game.  The plaintiff further points out the fact that Apple’s App Store games have raked in billions of dollars over the last four years even though the majority of these games are available for free. The suit continues to assert that Apple walks away with a massive chunk of the revenue which primarily comes from the in-app purchases of the games that are otherwise free to download.

According to Taylor, the loot crates, as they are often called, generate billion-dollar revenues for Apple from youngsters who are getting into contact with mechanisms that are too similar to gambling. Apart from Brawl Starts, one of the top-grossing games on Apple’s App Store, the plaintiff also mentions other mobile gaming hotshots such as Roblox, FIFA Soccer, and Mario Kart Tour in the suit. Nevertheless, Taylor’s complaint doesn’t specify whether or not she had used Apple’s parental control feature which prevents kids from purchasing online content without parental permission.

The Loot Crate Controversy Continues

It appears that loot boxes are becoming notorious for their mechanism of randomly offering attractive in-game rewards to youngsters at a price. The spoils of these boxes often include special or valuable items in the game such as weapons, skins, and boosts, items that players often yearn for to get ahead in the game. The controversy surrounding the item in question is because the reward system suggests that players get the items based on random chance – thus purported to be a form of gambling.

In the USA, the same loot crates also sparked a debate last year after Senator Josh Hawley tabled a bill dubbed Protecting Children from Abusive Games. This bill was aiming at banning the play-to-win modes of transactions that push the sales of the loot crates given that these games are typically targeted for the younger generation. However, no progress has been made after the submission of this bill since it was filed. 

A few days ago, the same loot boxes made headlines in the UK for the umpteenth time, but this time with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DDCMS). The British DDCMS released a statement indicating that it is moving to carry out a study to determine whether the loot boxes would officially be classed as gambling products. 

Is this a Classic Case of Shifting Blame?

It’s easy to say that Apple is relying on creating addictive habits in children to generate gigantic profits, at least according to Taylor. But then, we also shouldn’t forget the fact at the end of the day, youngsters can’t purchase loot crates or any online item for that matter without gaining access to online payment channels in the first place. 

Again, for Apple’s case in this particular suit, parents have to okay any App Store purchases first when a child is involved. What if parents would take a closer look at what their kids are buying using parental control tools that are availed by default?