EA won't contest £9k FIFA Ultimate Team fine in Austria

EA says it will not contest a €10.8k (£9.2k) fine laid down by an Austrian court that decided FIFA Ultimate Team packs constituted a breach of the country's gambling laws.

Naturally, EA says it still disagrees with the verdict.

This decision will likely have no wider impact, GamesIndustry.biz reports, as Austrian courts rule on individual cases without a need for their impact to be felt in subsequent cases.

"We disagree with the court's decision and believe it got both the facts and law wrong in this case," an EA spokesperson told GI.biz.

"While we've decided not to appeal this narrow decision, which has no broader legal impact beyond this individual claim, we are confident that our games do not constitute gambling and that we are in full compliance with local laws."

The issue of FIFA Ultimate Team packs providing blind chances at footballers has long been a thorny subject, with various countries around the world investigating their impact on player spending.

In Austria, EA has previously won similar cases, though lost this specific case on appeal.

If the case sounds familiar, it is the same one we reported on back in May, brought by a group of PlayStation-playing FIFA owners.

Sony was also dragged into the lawsuit, and ultimately did not contest a ruling which stated it was obliged to refund plaintiffs' money spent on FIFA packs bought on its platform.

"Regulators and courts around the world have ruled in favor of EA in similar cases, including in another case decided by the same Austrian Regional Court that reached this decision," EA's spokesperson concluded today.

"We design our games to bring choice, fairness, value, and fun, and we are committed to ensuring our Austrian players continue to have access to the same game and features as the millions of other players who enjoy them."