Balatro was hit with an 18+ rating by PEGI back in August, making it available to adults only. The reason given for this is that it features "prominent gambling imagery", even though no real money - or a microcurrency purchased with real money - is gambled in the process.
Now, Balatro developer LocalThunk has hit back. On Twitter, LocalThunk points out that EA Sports FC 25, which includes a form of loot boxes, is rated suitable for players aged three and above. He argues that Ultimate Team Packs are "actual gambling mechanics", and that PEGI is allowing them to be sold to children.
"Since PEGI gave us an 18+ rating for having evil playing cards maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA sports FC," jokes LocalThunk, before adding, "This is comedy".
He clarified that he doesn't mind Balatro's 18+ rating so much, more so that he takes issue with EA Sports FC 25 being listed as suitable for players three and above. This is despite many complaining that there are concerning similarities between loot boxes and gambling, with one study concluding that microtransactions are "structurally and psychologically akin to gambling." Another study...
