Why a soccer-player pack looked like gambling
In FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode, players assemble a squad by opening packs containing footballers and other items. The contents are randomized: a pack might produce a star player or a much less useful one, and the buyer cannot choose the result in advance. Belgian authorities focused on what happened when players paid real money for that chance.
The key distinction was between paying for a known item and paying for an uncertain outcome. A player’s skill on the virtual pitch could shape a match, but it did not determine which cards appeared in a purchased pack. To the authorities, that combination of payment and chance made the pack resemble gambling.
How the decision changed the game
EA’s FIFA Points let players buy packs without paying for each one directly in cash. Belgium’s ruling led EA to stop selling FIFA Points there, changing how Belgian players could access paid packs. Packs could still be obtained with coins earned in the game, so the change targeted the real-money route rather than removing the pack-opening system altogether.
That distinction mattered because randomized packs were woven into the mode’s squad-building loop. A player could improve a team by playing and earning in-game currency, but buying access to more packs offered another route—and one that could produce a valuable player or a disappointing result. The Belgian decision forced the game to separate those routes more sharply: chance-based rewards could remain, but buying chances with real money could not be treated as business as usual.
