The PEGI board has announced that it has reversed its decision to classify Balatro with a PEGI 18 rating and will instead have a PEGI 12 rating. The game has a E10+ rating in North America, making its original PEGI 18 classification in Europe strange.

As revealed in an update on the PEGI website, Balatro’s European publisher, Sold Out Sales & Marketing, successfully appealed the PEGI 18 classification. While the board originally classified the game as PEGI 18 due to explaining various poker hands, the more fantastical elements mitigated the “gambling” aspects and brought the rating down to PEGI 12.

Another game, Luck Be A Landlord, also got its PEGI 18 rating reduced to PEGI 12. In this game, players can attempt to pay their rent by using a customizable slot machine and has similar roguelike gameplay elements as Balatro. Since Luck Be A Landlord had no specific gambling skills that could be transferred to the real world, the game was able to achieve its new rating classification.

However, the board said that any teaching or glamorization of simulated gambling will still result in a PEGI 18 rating.

“On the basis of these appeals, the PEGI Experts Group will develop a more granular set of classification criteria to handle gambling themes and the simulation, teaching and glamorization of gambling in different age categories, which will now include 12 but also keep 18 as an age category for games that simulate gambling typically played in casinos and betting halls,” the board explained.

Developer LocalThunk previously that they didn’t have a problem with the rating itself for Balatro, but pointed out that games like EA Sports FC have microtransactions and loot boxes while being classified as PEGI 3+, meaning “suitable for all ages.” In a statement regarding Balatro’s ratings change, LockThunk wrote on BlueSky, “This is a good step from PEGI – bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18+ or nothing. I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished.”

Balatro is one of GameSpot’s best games of 2024, and it has received numerous awards and nominations at shows like 2025 DICE Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, New York Game Awards 2025, and The Game Awards 2024.