Yahoo Finance Government pressures video games firms to ban children from buying ‘loot boxes’
Ministers have given video games companies an ultimatum to restrict the sale of so-called “loot boxes” to children, warning it will otherwise bring in legislation limiting their use.
Julia Lopez, the minister for media, data and digital infrastructure, hosted a group of games companies, technology firms and industry representatives last week, urging them to crack down on the controversial paid-for items.
She is understood to have told the companies that failure to self-regulate, potentially by making loot boxes unavailable to under-18s, would mean new laws to tackle them, either through gambling legislation or the Government’s online harms bill.
Loot boxes are paid-for extras that give gamers collections of items such as weapons, clothes or characters that can improve performance or alter appearance. They have led to accusations of encouraging gambling, since their contents have often been hidden until they are purchased.
The video games industry has boomed in recent years, partly due to the rise of microtransactions – extra purchases made after buying or downloading the game.
Companies represented at last week’s meeting included major games publishers such as Activision Blizzard, the developer of Call of Duty; and Electronic Arts, best-known for the Fifa franchise. Apple and Google, which take a percentage of microtransactions on smartphone games, and console makers are also believed to have been present, alongside console manufacturers and trade associations.
Games makers are believed to have pushed back against the request, arguing that there was little evidence of the harms of loot boxes and pointing out steps the industry had taken to give players more control.
Last year, the games ratings body Pegi started to label games that sold loot boxes with random outcomes. Some games have taken steps to make purchases less random, amid concerns that this would mean they are seen as a gateway to gambling.
The Government launched a call for evidence on loot boxes 19 months ago and received more than 30,000 responses, which it says it is still considering. This formed part of a review of the Gambling Act that closed a year ago.
“People must be able to enjoy video games safely and we are reviewing the impact of loot boxes to examine concerns they may encourage or lead to problem gambling,” a Government spokesman said. “We will publish our response to this review in the coming months.”
In 2019, the Digital Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee recommended that the Government force gaming companies to remove loot boxes from games aimed at children and regulate them under the Gambling Act.
The video games industry was worth £4.2bn last year, a marginal decrease on 2020, when spending was turbocharged by the pandemic, with Fifa 2022 the best selling game of the year. The majority of the game’s revenues come from the sale of additional services such as micro transactions, not the purchase of the title itself.
The Gambling Commission scrutinised loot boxes in 2016 and concluded that they did not legally count as gambling.
