The Advertisement Board has issued its first-ever decision in Turkey concerning mystery boxes. Under its decision numbered 2025/2674, the Board addressed deceptive marketing practices by sellers promoting boxes with undisclosed content through Instagram and linked websites. These promotions often promised high-value electronics and used countdown timers to pressure consumers into quick purchases. The Board ruled that such activities constitute unfair commercial practices and ordered access blocking the misleading content.

Findings and Evaluations of the Board

In its decision, the Board identified two main problematic commercial practices, namely, (i) promotion of mystery boxes without revealing their contents and (ii) pressuring consumers to buy mystery boxes by using phrases like “Don’t miss out on this opportunity—the discount ends soon!” and demonstration of a fake countdown timer. In this regard, the Board determined that although the mystery boxes were marketed with various promises such as high value electronics, consumers were not clearly informed about the potential items that could be inside these boxes or the likelihood of receiving them. Additionally, the Board emphasized that employing urgency-based mechanisms, including countdown timers and pressure-inducing statements, constitutes a deceptive commercial practice designed to influence consumer decision-making.

As a result, the Board concluded that the promotion of mystery boxes constitutes unfair commercial practice, as it is capable of significantly distorting consumers’ economic behavior or leading them to engage in a transaction that they would not ordinarily enter under normal circumstances. Thus, it was decided to block access to the relevant websites that sell mystery boxes.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade’s public note reiterates that mystery box type methods are considered unfair and are subject to access blocking and, where applicable, referral for criminal investigations.

Implications of the Board Decision for Virtual Loot-Boxes

The Board decision confirms that lack of transparency and artificial time pressure in mystery box offers constitute unfair commercial practices—and therefore, it is evaluated the Board’s reasoning maps closely onto mechanics used in virtual loot boxes in games. It is assessed that the following criteria must be considered while marketing virtual loot-boxes in online games in Turkey:

  • Transparency of outcomes and odds. The Board explicitly criticized the absence of clear disclosure of items and their drop rates—a core transparency question for loot boxes. Where odds are hidden or framed ambiguously, the same unfairness analysis may be applied to virtual loot boxes. In this regard, it is recommended to provide precise drop rates for items on the same interface to consumers prior to their purchase decision.
  • Countdown and scarcity pressure. Countdown timers and pressuring phrases are considered as manipulative interface designs that distort consumer choice—again a risk for timed loot-box offers and limited drops. Hence, it is recommended that the countdown clocks, scarcity cues, or language that could be seen as coercive are avoided.

Authors: Hatice Ekici Tağa, Begüm Alara Şahinkaya, Ceren Elyıldırım
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