2K Aims to Comply With the Gambling Laws of Both Countries
Two official statements from the publisher of NBA 2K state that the basketball sim series will have several restrictions in place when in comes to the usage of lootboxes in Belgium & the Netherlands.
For Belgium, 2K said that they “will be turning off the ability to purchase packs with premium (non-earned) currency/VC.” However, NBA 2K players will still be able to “acquire packs with MyTeam points.”
“VC”, or “virtual currency”, is in-game currency can be used to buy multiple items or used to improve the skills of your players while “packs” are basically NBA 2K’s lootboxes.
When it comes to the Netherlands, the publisher “will be turning off access to the Auction House.” “MyTeam packs can still be purchased in the normal manner,” they added.
Both statements are in reaction to Belgium & the Netherlands taking action against lootboxes earlier this year. Notably, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has also made changes to how its lootboxes work in both countries after it was found that the feature had violated their gambling laws.
It is currently unconfirmed how exactly these changes will affect the upcoming NBA 2K19, which is due to come out on September 11th for the PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch & Xbox One.
Sources: 2K Belgium Statement, 2K Netherlands Statement