Loot boxes have drawn comparisons to gambling because they allow players to spend money to unlock in-game rewards, such as special characters, weapons or clothing, without knowing what they will receive. The features, popular in games such as Call of Duty and the Fifa football series, were effectively banned in Belgium in 2018, but Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said the UK would not follow suit. Instead, after a 22-month consultation, he said the government would discuss tougher “industry-led” protections with the UK’s £7bn gaming industry, drawing claims from one expert that “the foxes are guarding the hen house”. Legislation to restrict or ban loot boxes as part of an expected review of UK gambling laws could have “unexpected consequences”, Dorries said. “For example, legislation to introduce a permanent ban on children buying loot boxes could have the unintended effect of more children using adult accounts and therefore less parental oversight of their play and spending,” the government said , in a response to the consultation published in the early hours of Sunday. The government also concluded that while there was a “strong and consistent” association between loot boxes and problem gambling – found in 15 peer-reviewed studies – it could not be certain that there was a causal link. “Our view is that it would be premature to take legislative action without first seeking enhanced industry-led measures to provide protection for children and young people and all players,” it said. Another factor in the decision is that loot box rewards can’t legally be exchanged for real money, meaning players can’t theoretically “cash out” like they could when playing. However, the Gambling Commission has previously warned that third-party sites allow users to exchange rewards for real money. While the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stopped short of proposing legislation, Dorris said: “Children and young people should not be able to buy loot boxes without parental approval. “Furthermore, all players should have access to spending controls and transparent information to support their play.” Ministers are expected to seek tighter restrictions through talks with the UK video games industry. This will be done through a working group, which is scheduled to deliver its first update in the first three months of 2023. “We expect gaming companies and platforms to improve protections for children, young people and adults and to start seeing tangible results in the near future,” the DCMS said. “If this does not happen, we will not hesitate to consider legislative options if we deem it necessary to protect children, young people and adults.” Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk Dr David Zedle, a video games expert at the University of York, criticized the decision, saying: “Previous investigations by the commission have made it clear that some bad actors in the video games industry cannot trust self-regulation to protect players. “By making the same industry players responsible for regulating loot boxes, the DCMS is effectively guaranteeing that the foxes are guarding the hen house.”
