Having been found guilty of betting against his own club, EA Sports have booted Ivan Toney out of FIFA 23.
Earlier this month, the 27-year-old Brentford star received an eight-month ban and a hefty fine for his off-the-pitch activities.
With the player in hot water, EA were quick to react, but it hasn’t gone down brilliantly with fans who claim FIFA 23 Ultimate Team heavily promotes gambling.
In the game mode, players can pick up cards through loot boxes.
They can buy these with real money. However, there’s no guarantee of knowing what you’ll get, ergo creating the betting parallel.
While some believe the comparison is unwarranted, others think it’s bang on. For example, both the Netherlands and Belgium have banned loot boxes.
Gamers have headed to Twitter to give their stance on the matter.
Lukedutchh said: “F***ing pathetic. Not to mention that they still, to this day, hold the belief that loot boxes aren’t gambling. Biggest hypocrites of all time.”
On the other hand, FIFA games are meant to give a realistic depiction of what is happening in the sport. Therefore, getting rid of Toney is arguably the natural decision. In addition, EA might have been told to do this by the FIFA organisation itself.
Ultimately, Toney wasn’t just banned for gambling, but on games, he was playing in, where he placed money on his own side to lose.
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