A California mother and her son have filed a class action
lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California, in San Jose. The June 12, 2020 complaint
claims that Apple is complicit in promoting illegal gambling by
permitting app developers to offer games with loot boxes in the App
Store. Plaintiffs argue that Apple promotes addictive behavior and
claims that loot boxes, when played on an iPhone or iPad or similar
devices, constitute illegal slot machines or devices as defined by
California Penal Code § 330b (d).
Game developers offer loot boxes to generate more revenue. These
loot boxes are available as in-app purchases that randomly award
players with virtual prizes for use within the game. Typically, a
user will use real money to purchase virtual currency and use
virtual currency to purchase loot boxes. Users attempt to win rare
items that are difficult to obtain with loot boxes as most awarded
items tend to be common.
