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The UK Takes Early Steps Towards Protecting Against Loot Boxes
By Shane Addinall Jul 23, 2023 IndustryAfter nearly three years of review, the UK appears to be on the verge of taking its first tangible steps towards protecting at-risk individuals from addictive in-game loot boxes.The fact that gaming companies have used slot machines and other RNG instant game mechanics to power their in-game loot boxes is not lost on the gambling and video gaming communities. However, one of the significant challenges to shutting them down in regions like the United Kingdom is the strict definitions of what gambling entails.
While these definitions were necessary to create the well-regulated online gambling jurisdictions we enjoy today, the specificity of the legal terms has allowed gaming companies to skirt them by arguing simple points such as “the items have no monetary value” and “we do not provide a marketplace for reselling items” being amongst the most common defences.
The EU Acted Faster Than the UK
Despite legal gambling definitions, EU members, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, chose to act against loot boxes, pursuing the spirit of the law rather than being chained by its letter.
These countries released studies highlighting the massive financial losses caused by loot boxes and the addictive nature of their mechanics and shared the stories of individuals who suffered harm from participating in them.
It was also proven that allowing the youth to engage with gambling-like mechanics in video games heightened the chances of problem gambling behaviours later in life, eroding the hard work done to promote safer and more responsible online gambling in licensed jurisdictions.
The Gaming Industry Pushes for Regulation
These reports led UK-based video game industry companies to press their local authorities to take action to protect Britons from a similar fate.
In particular, the Technical Working Group (TWG), which was formed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to address such issues, was encouraged by the UK Interactive Entertainment (UKie) to review the grassroots impact of loot boxes on the gaming community.
In a surprising turn of events, it also received helpful input and guidance from leading developers such as Take2, EA, Ubisoft, and Activision. These companies feel that the industry needs to begin proactively regulating the practice to avoid an intensive government crackdown.
Nationwide Loot Box Limitations are Imminent
Under the guidance of the UKie, it appears that guidelines for protecting gamers, regardless of age and risk status, from gambling-adjacent loot box practices will be made available for review shortly.
Leading UK consultancy on gambling harm, EPIC Risk Management, posted on social media:
Quote“Though we still call for no U18s to be able to access loot boxes, we welcome the step in the right direction with new restrictions and greater education proposed.”
This was in response to the part of the proposed amendment to the current legislation on loot boxes calling for the drop rates of items to be made public and the items that could be won per “spin” to be shown to the players ahead of time.
While this will allow clear-minded players to make intelligent and unemotional purchases, it is not necessarily enough to protect at-risk adults and is far from a strong enough deterrent to protect the youth.
The TWG is also working on technology-driven tools and stopgaps that will prevent anyone under 18 from purchasing a random prize box without the knowledge of their guardian.
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