Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, sued the game developer, Valve, on February 25th due to its use of loot boxes being used as a form of unlicensed gambling since players are able to trade real life currency for digital coins and use those to purchase loot boxes.

Attorney General James said that “Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes. These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal, and my office is suing to stop Valve’s illegal conduct and protect New Yorkers”(Feb 25th).

James is attempting to gain restitution for players, as well as a fine for three times what Valve gained from the loot boxes. Other game loot boxes have been subject to legal action. In January of last year when the Singapore based creator of Genshin Impact, Cognosphere, was fined $20 million for deceiving players about the odds of winning by the Federal Trade Commission. The F.T.C. said that the company did not admit any wrong doings.

She also hopes to stop Valve from promoting its allegedly illegal gambling.

Valve allows players to cash in these items by selling them on the steam market place, which Valve also operates. Cosmetics that can be obtained from loot boxes can sell for hundreds of dollars with even rarer items selling for thousands but, most items sell for only a couple of dollars. Players can also connect their account to a third party service and sell skins directly for real world currency.