United Kingdom might crack down on loot boxes soon

According to the House of Lords Gambling Committee, loot boxes in video games should be classified as gambling and should therefore fall under the gambling laws. The committee released an in-depth report regarding the topic which is to serve as argumentation and evidence.

Loot boxes in video games have long been a controversial topic when it comes to regulation, with multiple games offering them. In most cases real-life money must be paid to buy keys, which can be used to access certain in-game content. After multiple controversies, most notably within CS:GO online gambling, loot boxes have been the subject of lots of research, comparing them to gambling.

Academic research

In the report that the House of Lords Gambling Committee released they make the argument for loot boxes to be classified as gambling. “If a product looks like gambling and feels like gambling, it should be regulated as gambling.” The report also cites numerous pieces of academic research that, albeit not causally, prove there is a connection between spending money on loot boxes and gambling problems.

Earlier measures

In the past years some measures were already taken, such as Pegi introducing more clear warning labels to be put on video games. Other countries, most notably Belgium in 2018, already outright banned loot boxes, fearing a link between them and gambling problems.

The issuse with this is they’ll make FIFA, COD etc. an 18 rated but kids still get access to the game. Look how many under 18’s have / had GTA . The only effective method of controlling lootboxes is removing the real money element https://t.co/FIgxiTOOX3

— Olly 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@CymruOlly) July 2, 2020

To counter the problem, the House of Lords suggest screening the online gambling games and assess if they appeal to children. They also cite eSports betting as a potential problem when it comes to introducing young people to gambling. This strong push might mean we’ll see some changes in the UK regulations soon.

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Picture credit: Overwatch