{"id":114806,"date":"2019-09-13T07:24:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T14:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=114806"},"modified":"2019-09-13T13:00:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T20:00:41","slug":"loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/","title":{"rendered":"Loot Box Video Games Should Be 18+ and Regulated Like Gambling Industry, Says UK Parliamentary Committee"},"content":{"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).<\/p>\n

\"Loot
Conservative MP Damian Collins of the DCMS is challenging the government to explain why loot boxes should be exempt from the UK gambling law. (Image: Simon Dawson\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A parliamentary committee investigation<\/a> into addiction and immersive technology concluded this week that \u201cbuying a loot box is playing a game of chance, and it is high time the gambling laws caught up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In video games, a loot box is a virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomized selection “loot,” ranging from customization options for a player’s avatar or character to equipment such as weapons and armor.<\/p>\n

The UKGC previously said<\/a> that while it had \u201csignificant concerns\u201d about loot boxes, they could not be considered gambling under current law because they do not offer the chance to win anything of monetary value.<\/p>\n

The regulator was \u201cconstrained by the current legislation,\u201d but it would be prepared to regulate loot boxes if the law were changed, it said.<\/p>\n

Gaming Disorder is Real<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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":"\nLoot Boxes Should Be Regulated as Gambling: UK MPs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Loot boxes should be banned for children and regulated like gambling, says a UK parliamentary committee examining risks of immersive technology.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Loot Boxes Should Be Regulated as Gambling: UK MPs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Loot boxes should be banned for children and regulated like gambling, says a UK parliamentary committee examining risks of immersive technology.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-13T14:24:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-13T20:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/collins.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/\",\"name\":\"Loot Boxes Should Be Regulated as Gambling: UK MPs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/collins.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-13T14:24:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-13T20:00:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Loot boxes should be banned for children and regulated like gambling, says a UK parliamentary committee examining risks of immersive technology.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/loot-boxes-should-be-regulated-as-gambling-uk-mps\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/collins.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/collins.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Conservative MP Damian Collins of the DCMS is challenging the government to explain why loot boxes should be exempt from the UK gambling law. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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