Can't buy Crown Crates from Brazil but it's up to ZOS to fix (please)

Bo0137 · March 18

As of March 17th, new law protecting minors (18 less) from purchasing lootboxes. The law explicitly prohibits the commerce for minors only.

Law 15.211 of 2026:

CAPÍTULO VII

DOS JOGOS ELETRÔNICOS

Art. 20. São vedadas as caixas de recompensa (loot boxes) oferecidas em jogos eletrônicos direcionados a crianças e a adolescentes ou de acesso provável por eles, nos termos da respectiva classificação indicativa.

Art. 2º Considera-se criança, para os efeitos desta Lei, a pessoa até doze anos de idade incompletos, e adolescente aquela entre doze e dezoito anos de idade. (Law 8.069 of 1990)

I log in today, avid about getting my hands on the precious loot, there's no option to get crown crates.

Please, for the love of the universe, apply an age verification or something and let me spend my money on you!

Trust me, I'm a lawyer, we are safe to buy lootboxes.

Maybe I can send you my ID and we can settle this. PLEASE?

@ZOS_Kevin help us

Gabriel_H · March 18

ZOS would then need a mechanism to verify you are actually in Brazil, as well as having to process your personal data beyond what they already do, which itself brings in more compliance requirements with other laws - all at a time when other countries are not just looking to regulate/remove lootboxes not just for minors but period.

Carcamongus · March 18

Yeah, sorry, but I don't think we're getting crown crates again. It's easier for ZOS to just ban every Brazilian purchase than to verify we're actually not minors. The law also states loot boxes are banned from games geared towards children (up to 12 years) and teenagers (between 12 and 18) or games to which they're likely to have access. That pretty much includes ESO. Belgium's example indicates we'll have to spend our money elsewhere.

Stupid Felca with his magnificent hair.

SkaiFaith · March 18

"One does not simply give their personal data to Mordor" (semi-quote)

licenturion · March 18

Carcamongus wrote: »

Yeah, sorry, but I don't think we're getting crown crates again. It's easier for ZOS to just ban every Brazilian purchase than to verify we're actually not minors. The law also states loot boxes are banned from games geared towards children (up to 12 years) and teenagers (between 12 and 18) or games to which they're likely to have access. That pretty much includes ESO. Belgium's example indicates we'll have to spend our money elsewhere.

Stupid Felca with his magnificent hair.

True, also they would need a whole new infrastructure for that to do age verification.

In Belgium selling gambling lootboxes are forbidden for everyone, including adults. So they don't have age checking mechanism in place.

Morvan · March 18

Some questions about that, does gifting from other players still work? Or even VPN?

Maitsukas · March 18

Morvan wrote: »

Some questions about that, does gifting from other players still work? Or even VPN?

Receiving Crown Crates from the gifting system still works for the countries that have banned the purchase of Crates.

scrappy1342 · March 18

you can buy them with in game gold from other players and they can gift them to you

Scaletho · March 20

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

Carcamongus · March 20

Scaletho wrote: »

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

Responsible adults are banned from buying crates because irresponsible parents don't keep watch over their spawn.

spartaxoxo · March 20

Scaletho wrote: »

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

No. Because ZOS doesn't have an age verification system. It's easier to them to just ban everyone.

DenverRalphy · March 20

I think equating ZOS revoking access to purchasing crown crates as banning is a bit strong. ZOS hasn't banned anything. They simply are not allowed to sell crown crates to anyone not confirmed to being of age in those countries. ZOS didn't make the rules. They're just abiding by them.

wolfie1.0. · March 20

Carcamongus wrote: »

Yeah, sorry, but I don't think we're getting crown crates again. It's easier for ZOS to just ban every Brazilian purchase than to verify we're actually not minors. The law also states loot boxes are banned from games geared towards children (up to 12 years) and teenagers (between 12 and 18) or games to which they're likely to have access. That pretty much includes ESO. Belgium's example indicates we'll have to spend our money elsewhere.

Stupid Felca with his magnificent hair.

The irony is that eso is technically supposed to be for 18+ audiences... not that anyone actually follows that.

wolfie1.0. · March 20

Carcamongus wrote: »

Scaletho wrote: »

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

Responsible adults are banned from buying crates because irresponsible parents don't keep watch over their spawn.

No its because lawmakers decided that parents are not responsible enough to police their children.

There is a difference.

Ultimately the choice is to be allowed to play but not buy the crates, or just not be allowed to play at all. Thats it for ZOS, mostly because Microsoft still needs to be able to do business in Brazil.

The only way to change things is to change the law.

spartaxoxo · March 20

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I think equating ZOS revoking access to purchasing crown crates as banning is a bit strong. ZOS hasn't banned anything. They simply are not allowed to sell crown crates to anyone not confirmed to being of age in those countries. ZOS didn't make the rules. They're just abiding by them.

No. They had a choice and they made it. It's a sensible one, but it's still their decision regardless. They could have complied with the relevant laws, or they could ban their purchase for a specific region. They chose the latter. I'd probably do the same but loot boxes are not outright forbidden in Brazil.

DenverRalphy · March 20

spartaxoxo wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I think equating ZOS revoking access to purchasing crown crates as banning is a bit strong. ZOS hasn't banned anything. They simply are not allowed to sell crown crates to anyone not confirmed to being of age in those countries. ZOS didn't make the rules. They're just abiding by them.

No. They had a choice and they made it. It's a sensible one, but it's still their decision regardless. They could have complied with the relevant laws, or they could ban their purchase for a specific region. They chose the latter. I'd probably do the same but loot boxes are not outright forbidden in Brazil.

But ZOS hasn't banned anything. The country's government decided that the loot boxes are gambling, and the country's government has banned gambling for minors. ZOS simply is not allowed to sell them crown crate loot boxes as that would be considered gambling in the eyes of that country's laws. ZOS doesn't have any choice in the matter. It's not as simple as implementing an age verifcation. They'd also have to acquire some form of gambling license, and abide by any laws and statutes concerning gambling that country may have. Not to mention any gambling license likely comes with a compulsory cut of what would then be considered gambling proceeds.

spartaxoxo · March 20

DenverRalphy wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I think equating ZOS revoking access to purchasing crown crates as banning is a bit strong. ZOS hasn't banned anything. They simply are not allowed to sell crown crates to anyone not confirmed to being of age in those countries. ZOS didn't make the rules. They're just abiding by them.

No. They had a choice and they made it. It's a sensible one, but it's still their decision regardless. They could have complied with the relevant laws, or they could ban their purchase for a specific region. They chose the latter. I'd probably do the same but loot boxes are not outright forbidden in Brazil.

But ZOS hasn't banned anything. The country's government decided that the loot boxes are gambling, and the country's government has banned gambling for minors. ZOS simply is not allowed to sell them crown crate loot boxes as that would be considered gambling in the eyes of that country's laws. ZOS doesn't have any choice in the matter. It's not as simple as implementing an age verifcation. They'd also have to acquire some form of gambling license, and abide by any laws and statutes concerning gambling that country may have. Not to mention any gambling license likely comes with a compulsory cut of what would then be considered gambling proceeds.

It doesn't matter if one option is more complicated than the other. They have a choice. It's not the same thing as country completely outlawing the sale. This is a billion dollar corporation owned by one of the richest companies on Earth not some one man indie dev. They could comply. I can see why they don't. But the fact remains they have the option.

valenwood_vegan · March 20

It's not like zos doesn't *want* to sell people crates. They have to comply with the law immediately, but it may take time to assess the new law and develop an age verification mechanism that complies with it, particularly since ESO does not have any existing age verification. And there are other privacy and data protection issues adjacent to this. Just look at what happened recently when Discord announced it was doing age verification.

it's also quite possible that the cost of adding age verification to ESO is simply not worth the benefit of reinstating crown crate sales in one market at this time. I don't know, just saying it's not some simple thing where they snap their fingers and all the necessary systems are in place and they're good to go.

I'm not at all surprised that the immediate solution is to stop crown crate sales. Hopefully they will look at longer term solutions, as it does seem that more countries may be considering restrictions or bans on loot boxes, and / or implementing new laws aimed at protecting minors online.

virtus753 · March 20

wolfie1.0. wrote: »

Carcamongus wrote: »

Yeah, sorry, but I don't think we're getting crown crates again. It's easier for ZOS to just ban every Brazilian purchase than to verify we're actually not minors. The law also states loot boxes are banned from games geared towards children (up to 12 years) and teenagers (between 12 and 18) or games to which they're likely to have access. That pretty much includes ESO. Belgium's example indicates we'll have to spend our money elsewhere.

Stupid Felca with his magnificent hair.

The irony is that eso is technically supposed to be for 18+ audiences... not that anyone actually follows that.

Technically, last I checked, the ToS allow players under 18 to have their own accounts, provided they create it with parental consent.

Has this changed?

I’m not talking about ratings from external agencies, which vary in ages and are not always legally binding. In the U.S., for example, the ESRB’s M rating is 17+, not 18+, and it’s not a legal restriction.

ADarklore · March 21

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

Bo0137 · March 21

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

No. Brazil has a pretty large population and a huge ESO playerbase (can’t estimate how many).

My take is ZOS is taking their time to come up with a better solution and just banned the crates as a temporary solution.

@ZOS_Kevin any ETA on this? Please!

virtus753 · March 21

Bo0137 wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

No. Brazil has a pretty large population and a huge ESO playerbase (can’t estimate how many).

My take is ZOS is taking their time to come up with a better solution and just banned the crates as a temporary solution.

@ZOS_Kevin any ETA on this? Please!

It seems that Brazil’s ban is based not just on the age of the user but on the rating of the game as well. If they are indeed using this rating for the purposes of assessing what constitutes a game likely to be accessed by minors, then ESO’s rating would also need to be raised significantly. It’s currently 14 in Brazil, so quite friendly to minors compared to the 17+ in the U.S.

It looks like at least one other game just went 18+ as well as implementing an age verification system in order to keep selling lootboxes in Brazil, so it seems both would be necessary here. I’d be curious to hear if a rating of 18 in Brazil is seen as quite as serious as an 18+ (Adult Only) rating in the U.S. Here AO is much, much rarer and seen as much more serious than M. I believe many retailers refuse to sell AO games.

Carcamongus · March 21

Bo0137 wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

No. Brazil has a pretty large population and a huge ESO playerbase (can’t estimate how many).

My take is ZOS is taking their time to come up with a better solution and just banned the crates as a temporary solution.

@ZOS_Kevin any ETA on this? Please!

It's not like they didn't have plenty of forewarning about this Felca Law. As I posted earlier, I'm fairly sure the law bans ESO from selling crates, as children and teenagers are likely to have access to the game. An age verification wouldn't bypass this prohibition.

spartaxoxo · March 21

Carcamongus wrote: »

Bo0137 wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

No. Brazil has a pretty large population and a huge ESO playerbase (can’t estimate how many).

My take is ZOS is taking their time to come up with a better solution and just banned the crates as a temporary solution.

ZOS_Kevin any ETA on this? Please!

It's not like they didn't have plenty of forewarning about this Felca Law. As I posted earlier, I'm fairly sure the law bans ESO from selling crates, as children and teenagers are likely to have access to the game. An age verification wouldn't bypass this prohibition.

That's what I assumed but it's good to hear that's confirmed. Most countries don't just spring laws this complicated onto companies instantly. They have a warning period where they get a chance to come into compliance or exit the market before it's an issue. Sounds like this was case here. Seems obvious it's just a business decision by ZOS.

ADarklore · March 22

Bo0137 wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, let's consider this. Do you think perhaps ZOS looked at how many Crown Crate sales came from these countries and decided that it was less expensive to just stop selling them there, then the cost of implementing an age verification system?

No. Brazil has a pretty large population and a huge ESO playerbase (can’t estimate how many).

My take is ZOS is taking their time to come up with a better solution and just banned the crates as a temporary solution.

@ZOS_Kevin any ETA on this? Please!

Ok, I have to disagree. Brazil may have a large population, but considering ESO doesn't even have a large population, I doubt there is a huge number (that were actively buying crown crates) playing ESO. That's the point. You can have hundreds of players from Brazil playing, but if only 10 are actively buying crown crates, that's not a big loss financially. Again, we're talking a huge amount of money to create a verification system, deal with people's personal information, and constantly risk running into lawsuits should someone get past the system. The bean counters would have assessed the situation and made the determination, and honestly, I don't think it's a ZOS decision, it's probably a Microsoft decision.

SwordOfSagas · March 22

Government doing the parents job for them I guess, and by the way if kids have there own money to spend let them buy what they want, also is eso 18+ or am I imagining that.

SwordOfSagas · March 22

SwordOfSagas wrote: »

Government doing the parents job for them I guess, and by the way if kids have there own money to spend let them buy what they want, also is eso 18+ or am I imagining that.

In Australia its rated M 15+ but it's still legal for under 15's to play, it's a recommendation more than rule, over here at least.

DenverRalphy · March 22

SwordOfSagas wrote: »

Government doing the parents job for them I guess, and by the way if kids have there own money to spend let them buy what they want, also is eso 18+ or am I imagining that.

Maturity ratings are not enforceable by law. But instead by industry agreements and common courtesy. It is not illegal to sell a game with an ESRB game rated M for mature to a minor. Therefore age verification isn't required by the game publisher. They may enact token efforts to do so, but that's typically just a simple effort to maintain a general all-around maturity level of the playerbase.

Effectively all it does is publicly announce the maturity level of the content found therein. There's really nothing legally binding behind it though.

randconfig · March 22

Bo0137 wrote: »

As of March 17th, new law protecting minors (18 less) from purchasing lootboxes. The law explicitly prohibits the commerce for minors only.

Law 15.211 of 2026:
CAPÍTULO VII

DOS JOGOS ELETRÔNICOS

Art. 20. São vedadas as caixas de recompensa (loot boxes) oferecidas em jogos eletrônicos direcionados a crianças e a adolescentes ou de acesso provável por eles, nos termos da respectiva classificação indicativa.

Art. 2º Considera-se criança, para os efeitos desta Lei, a pessoa até doze anos de idade incompletos, e adolescente aquela entre doze e dezoito anos de idade. (Law 8.069 of 1990)

I log in today, avid about getting my hands on the precious loot, there's no option to get crown crates.

Please, for the love of the universe, apply an age verification or something and let me spend my money on you!

Trust me, I'm a lawyer, we are safe to buy lootboxes.

Maybe I can send you my ID and we can settle this. PLEASE?

@ZOS_Kevin help us

That's a red line for me in the US. If you require my photo ID, I will quit the game. Please stop advocating for mass surveillance and for more 3rd party companies to store your IDs for hackers to get and steal your identity.

Surely they can just see you have a credit card on file and are making purchases, meaning you're not a minor, and that should be in compliance with age verification. Also this is game is rated game M for mature correct? So it's already not intended for minors.

randconfig · March 22

Carcamongus wrote: »

Scaletho wrote: »

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

Responsible adults are banned from buying crates because irresponsible parents don't keep watch over their spawn.

That's not the real reason they're doing it. It's for mass surveillance and censorship, which is why everyone should be opposed to age verification laws. I would go into more details, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about irl stuff.

DenverRalphy · March 22

randconfig wrote: »

Carcamongus wrote: »

Scaletho wrote: »

So I'm Brazilian and have 63 yo but I'm "forbidden" to purchase crates because... what? I'm a minor? Wtf is that?

Responsible adults are banned from buying crates because irresponsible parents don't keep watch over their spawn.

That's not the real reason they're doing it. It's for mass surveillance and censorship, which is why everyone should be opposed to age verification laws. I would go into more details, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about irl stuff.

Who's pushing for surveillance and censorship? ZOS obviously isn't since they're not moving to implement any form of age verification. The two countries (Belgium and Brazil) aren't asking ZOS to do so. I'm not seeing any kind of grand conspiracy here.