Game Rating Board Warns Game Company Offering Luxury Car Prizes: "No Gambling-Style Prizes Allowed"

Blue Potion Games, Genesis G80 Giveaway Event
Game Rating Board "Regulates as Gambling Prize under Game Industry Act"

A domestic game company offered a luxury passenger car as a prize in a game launch event, but the Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) intervened, calling it a 'gambling prize.'

According to GRAC on the 2nd, it rejected the content modification report submitted by Blue Potion Games, the developer of the MMORPG 'EOS Black,' on the 27th of last month. After receiving a game rating classification, if there are changes to game content such as events, a content modification report must be submitted to GRAC.

Blue Potion Games launched 'EOS Black' on the 20th of last month and held 'The Blacklist' event, where users who completed weekly missions and collected entry tickets could enter a prize draw. They announced that prizes such as electronic devices, luxury hotel accommodation vouchers, department store gift certificates, and chicken sets would be provided through the draw.

In particular, with 100 entry tickets, users could enter to win a 'Genesis G80' passenger car worth approximately 70 million KRW. Multiple entries were allowed, so the more tickets collected, the higher the chances of winning.

Blue Potion Games submitted a content modification report to GRAC including the 'Genesis G80' as a prize in the launch event, but GRAC stated, "It was confirmed that the structure allows obtaining entry tickets through many missions that require payment to achieve. This falls under gambling prizes according to the Game Industry Promotion Act (Game Industry Act)," and rejected the content modification.

Following GRAC's rejection, Blue Potion Games stopped the prize entry event.

The current Game Industry Act stipulates that game-related businesses must not promote gambling by providing prizes, etc. GRAC has repeatedly sanctioned game events that provide physical prizes based on this provision.

In 2019, Playwith's 'Rohan M,' which initially offered a Porsche passenger car as a prize to users who reached the highest level, also revised its event content due to GRAC's sanctions. Netmarble planned an event earlier this year to award cash prizes to users who placed in a 'user tournament' ahead of the launch of 'Raven 2,' but it was rejected by GRAC.