🇳🇱 The Netherlands: Video Game Regulation (including virtual currencies and equivalent euro pricing)
October 2025: Heavily referenced in the Autoriteit Consument en Markt [Authority for Consumers and Markets] (ACM) position paper ‘Better protection for players of video games: A specific response on gaming to the European Commission’s public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act’ (pp. 8, 11, 12, 17, 19, 23, fns 21, 22, 39, 52, 54, 76, 83, 97), which is part of the ACM’s response to the European Commission Digital Fairness Act consultation: Link.
April 2025: The Dutch advertising regulator, the Stichting Reclame Code, upheld nearly all points of my complaint following two appeals, ruling that My.Games breached advertising rules, in relation to Rush Royale, as it, inter alia, (i) failed to disclose loot box presence on the Apple App Store; (ii) failed to disclose loot box probabilities; (iii) failed to provide an equivalent price in euros for in-game purchase offers; (iv) falsely advertised paid in-game items as free; (v) failed to disclose the presence of in-game advertising and the identities of the advertisers; and (vi) illegally encouraged children to advertise on the company's behalf: Link. The regulator published a press release describing this ruling as important because “This is the first time a ruling has been made on advertising in and around a mobile game.”
🇳🇱 The Netherlands: Loot Box Regulation
July 2023: The Trimbos Institute report was relied upon by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to argue before the European Commission in favour of a ban on loot boxes by including it under Annex 1 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: Link.
June 2023: Invited to discuss consumer protection issues surrounding video games in an expert roundtable organised by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets.
May 2023: Invited to discuss loot box regulation using a consumer protection framework with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets.
December 2021: Cited in the Trimbos Institute report Risico’s voordelen en regulering van videogames [Risks, Benefits and Regulation of Video Games] commissioned by the Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - en Documentatiecentrum (WODC) [Research and Data Centre] under the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security (p. 70): Link.