The UK government has told the UK games industry that if it doesn’t act on loot boxes, it will legislate to do so.
As noted by our colleagues at our sister site GamesIndustry.biz, the government today told game publishers that the luxury of self-regulation will stop if it does not take control of the sale of loot boxes to children and young people like those who use loot boxes are “more likely to experience harm related to gambling, mental health, financial and problem gambling”.
Back in June 2020, the UK government announced that it would issue a call for evidence on loot boxes in response to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) inquiry into immersive and addictive technology and began inviting the public to answered in September.
After a lengthy investigation, DCMS now says loot boxes should not be accessible to children without the consent of parents or guardians and – in a 90-page report – said it “will not hesitate to consider legislation if companies do not take sufficient action for player safety’.
Other recommendations include better signaling to players that loot boxes are neither essential to progress nor a “guarantee of success,” as well as measures to limit the amount of purchases that can be made over a period of time. He also wants to see “generous refund policies” and the ability to track/review in-game spending.
He also stated that the government has launched the Video Games Research Framework to better understand the positive and negative impacts of gaming.
“We want to stop children spending money online without parental consent, prompted by in-game purchases such as loot boxes,” Culture Minister Nadine Dorries said.
“Gaming companies and platforms must do more to ensure that controls and age restrictions are in place so that players are protected from the risk of gambling harm,” she added. “Kids should be free to enjoy games safely while giving parents and guardians the peace of mind they need.”
So far, however, the UK government is not implementing legislation to help achieve this.
It wasn’t even the first time a UK government body had asked for evidence of loot boxes: back in January 2019, the DCMS committee also called on individuals and members of the public to discuss their experiences as part of its preliminary inquiry into problem gambling and video game addiction. As a result of this evidence-gathering, the DCMS recommended that the UK Government regulate loot boxes under the Gambling Act, with all the additional rules and regulations that flow from this.
Earlier this month, political parties in the Netherlands widely supported a new attempt to block the sale of video game boxes in the country. There has also been a recent push on loot boxes in Spain.
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