The committee of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is proposing exactly that. Committee chairman and Conservative MP Damian Collins said he “challenge[s] the government to explain why loot boxes should be exempt from the Gambling Act.”<\/p>\n
“Gaming disorder based on excessive and addictive game-play has been recognized by the World Health Organization,” Collins said. “It’s time for game companies to use the huge quantities of data they gather about their players to do more to proactively identify vulnerable gamers.”<\/p>\n
Loot boxes are particularly lucrative for games companies but come at a high cost, particularly for problem gamblers, while exposing children to potential harm,” he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Over the course of its months-long investigation, the committee heard from numerous representatives of the games industry, as well former players, including young adults who were thousands of pounds in debt from playing the games.<\/p>\n
RuneScape publisher Jagex admitted to the committee that players could spend up to $1,000 a week on micro transactions within the game.<\/p>\n
\u2018Wilfully Obtuse\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n
On the whole, the committee said the industry was reluctant to accept responsibility for its actions, or recognize that its games could promote dangerous overspending. Some industry representatives had been \u201cwilfully obtuse\u201d when answering questions \u2013 particularly about what data they collected, how it was used, and the psychological techniques employed to increase player engagement.<\/p>\n
Industry trade body the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) told GamingBiz<\/em> Thursday that it took the issues raised by the committee seriously, but \u201cstrongly disagreed\u201d with its findings.<\/p>\n“As demonstrated by the recent announcement of policies regarding the disclosure of the relative rarity or probability of obtaining virtual items in paid loot boxes, as well as the robust parental controls that empower parents to control in-game purchases, the video game industry is a leader in partnering with parents and players to create enjoyable video game experiences,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, numerous regulatory bodies around the world, including those in Australia, France, Ireland, Germany, and the UK, have come to a conclusion starkly different than that of this committee,” it added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A UK Parliamentary committee says loot boxes in video games should be banned for children, and publishers should be forced to employ age-verification technology like the gambling industry. Meanwhile, the games should be overseen and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). A parliamentary committee investigation into addiction and immersive technology concluded this week that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":114808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13592,22988],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Loot Boxes Should Be Regulated as Gambling: UK MPs<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n