The British Gambling Commission has released a statement regarding the current loot box controversy and say that they are “concerned” with the situation but currently most loot boxes do are not classed as gambling under British law, so there is little they can do. However they do say they can advise of “any changes to that definition need to be made by Parliament.”
“A key factor in deciding if that line has been crossed is whether in-game items acquired ‘via a game of chance’ can be considered money or money’s worth,” reads the statement, “In practical terms this means that where in-game items obtained via loot boxes are confined for use within the game and cannot be cashed out it is unlikely to be caught as a licensable gambling activity. In those cases our legal powers would not allow us to step in.”
However it does sound the Commission is fully aware of the current controversy. “Many parents are not interested in whether an activity meets a legal definition of ‘gambling’. Their main concern is whether there is a product out there that could present a risk to their children,” they state. “We are concerned with the growth in examples where the line between video gaming and gambling is becoming increasingly blurred.”
“Where a product does not meet that test to be classed as gambling but could potentially cause harm to children, parents will undoubtedly expect proper protections to be put in place by those that create, sell and regulate those products,” they add.
Games do have age ratings and consoles do have parental locks, if these were used then then there would be no risk to young kids, for example, Star Wars Battlefront II has a PEGI rating of 16 or older.
Source: Gambling Commission
ron_mcphatty
‘Concerned’ is a very British response! Presumably while Battlefront 2’s crystal purchases are turned off there’s no hint of gambling, hopefully things stay that way, but someone was telling me that FIFA Ultimate Team does essentially the same thing and that it has being doing for years, is that right?
Nate
From what I have read, FIFA is notorious for it but somehow has slipped by. COD has just announced microtransactions for loot boxes containing gun upgrades as well which seems balsy considering recent events! Will be interesting to see whether they are pulled up on it or not.
ron_mcphatty
I’m not surprised Fifa is getting away with it Fifa themselves have been morally bankrupt for god knows how long. Yeah really surprised CoD is going for the same, I guess they think they can get away with it if it’s done by everyone.