Whereas the United States has relied on public opinion to shift video game developers away fromloot boxesand in-game gambling reward systems, theUnited Kingdomand parts of Europe have continued to evaluate taking more direct steps toward regulation. Despite concluding that loot boxes are associated with “gambling, mental health, financial, and problem gaming-related harms,” the UK has taken no legal step forward. Its next step, it seems, is to pursue non-legal efforts to limit loot boxes.
In a statement issued by UK culture secretary Nadine Dorries of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Dorries says that the government wants to “stop children going on spending sprees online without parental consents.” Further, she says specifically that she’s referring to behavior, “spurred on by in-game purchases like loot-boxes.” But, again, no direct action is being taken. Instead, Dorries says, “Games companies and platforms need to do more to ensure that controls and age restrictions are applied.” In other words, Dorries is calling for self-regulation within the gaming industry.
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To potentially help the industry move in the correct direction, theDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sportis planning to create a working group between regulatory bodies, platform holders, and game developers. The hope is that this group will work together to establish new standards within itself that will limit loot box access to children. No specific policies or goals were mentioned as aims for this group. It’s unclear if there are any expectations at all.
Skepticism regarding the direction of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is understandably high. The current UK government’s inability to pass legislation regulating loot boxes despite acknowledging its inherent harms is a contradiction that some believe to be self-serving. In other words, theUK governmentis able to say that it’s taking the issue seriously yet allows the industry to continue uninhibited.
Cynicism of the UK’s efforts is in part driven by frustrations with self-regulation efforts in the United States. The video game industry self-regulates in the USA with the ESRB working as the non-government oversight body. TheESRB does not consider loot boxes gambling, despite research indicating otherwise. It was only under significant pressure that the ESRB introduced a warning label for paid loot boxes in 2020.
While efforts to regulate loot boxes in the UK and US have been stymied, there are examples of the opposite. Both Belgium and Netherlands consider loot boxes as a form of illegal gambling, leading to games likeDiablo Immortalnot being released there. There are also growing efforts in the European Union to regulate loot boxes in one way or another. Only time will tell how gambling-based in-game mechanics like loot boxes are addressed across the world.
