Austria’s Supreme Court Dismissed Loot Box Lawsuit

In Austria, the Supreme Court on 18 December 2025 dismissed a player’s claim seeking a refund of nearly €20,000 spent on purchasing loot boxes in an unnamed football simulation between October 2017 and October 2021.

Essence of the Loot Box Dispute

The claimant sought to recover funds from the game developer and the seller of in-game currency that were spent on purchasing Points, which were used to buy loot boxes in the football video game.

According to the claimant, buying and opening loot boxes constituted illegal gambling because the outcome depended on a random algorithm and the defendants allegedly lacked the required license.

Position of Austria’s Supreme Court

Assessment of the Game as a Whole

The court stated that loot boxes cannot be assessed separately from the video game itself. For legal purposes, the game must be examined as a whole, including the mechanics for acquiring and using digital items.

Under this approach, the football simulation does not qualify as gambling under Austrian law.

Balance Between Skill and Chance

The ruling noted that although the contents of loot boxes are determined by a random algorithm, players can use the obtained virtual items during gameplay.

Match outcomes depend primarily on player skill, chosen tactics, strategy, and control, with the element of chance not being dominant.

Criteria for the Absence of Gambling

Rational Expectation of Outcomes

The court emphasized that in the game under review, players retain the ability to form a rational expectation of the game outcome, rather than relying solely on chance.

As a result, the claimant failed to prove that the gameplay depends exclusively or predominantly on randomness.