The UK gaming industry has shared plans to try and bring some restrictions to children’s access to loot boxes.
Loot boxes are special in-game items that provide players with the opportunity to purchase some extras to enhance their gameplay. These extras, however, are randomly assigned, with some campaigners being concerned about the potential links between loot boxes and problem gambling.
Apart from that, loot boxes require players to pay with real money in return for the digital items they get. However, players are not aware of what they are getting at the moment when they pay for the in-game items, which, according to some, pretty much resembles gambling, and slot machines in particular.
UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) – the body that represents gaming companies in the UK – has noted that, if implemented, the proposals will considerably improve protections for all players across the country. The organisation has argued that 11 new guidelines highlight the local gaming industry’s commitment to safe and responsible play.
UK Government Did Almost Nothing to Restrict Underage Access to Loot Boxes
The UK Government has spent a few years contemplating what it can do about them – from threatening to suspend their use for British children, to an order requiring gaming companies to create new rules aimed at protecting minors and young people.
It seems that local lawmakers are still unable to decide on whether loot boxes can serve as a way to gambling addiction or are simply a regular form of entertainment aimed at enhancing players’ gaming experience. Some European countries, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, believe that loot boxes could lead to problem gambling and have already banned them.
In July 2022, the then-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries noted that the Government was still gathering evidence about loot boxes, so direct intervention may risk unintended negative consequences. She, however, noted that the gaming industry should make sure it self-regulates efficiently before any new pieces of legislation are introduced by the Government.
It took the industry almost a full year to agree upon those measures.
Ukie Publishes Some Principles to Help the Gaming Sector Self-Regulate
The Ukie has now published a bunch of new principles that it believes will help the gaming sector self-regulate the use of loot boxes.
One of the key measures involves a commitment to implement special technological controls that effectively restrict individuals under the age of 18 to access loot boxes without the knowledge or consent of a parent/guardian. Many of these controls are already available on various game platforms but are not used as widely as they could be.
Another measure that has been proposed by the Ukie involves driving awareness of the controls over loot boxes through a public information campaign. An expert panel is set to be established to share the best practices regarding age-assurance issues.
UK Interactive Entertainment shared that gaming companies will be required to reveal the presence of loot boxes before a person chooses to buy a title. Games will also have to clearly show the probabilities of getting a certain in-game item before the completion of the loot box purchase. The proposed measures also include rules on the way loot boxes are presented to the public, as well as a commitment to the implementation of refund policies that are more favourable to customers.
There is also a proposal aimed at tackling the black market surrounding such in-game purchases and doing further research about their use and impact on the market.
Progress on the measures is set to be reviewed in 12 months.
- Author
Daniel Williams
