Jolyon Jenkins' Radio 4 series left me with the strong impression that the loot box concept in video games tended to encourage vulnerable youngsters to gamble beyond their means and that there were shady characters behind the most exploitative games. So I was rather concerned when I read that the government did not intend to ban their use.
PC Gamer sets out the culture minister's thinking:
The UK Government has issued a formal response to its 2020 call for evidence on loot boxes in videogames. In short: The UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) doesn't think the government should regulate loot boxes in videogames at this time, rather that the games industry should be encouraged to self-regulate in order to avoid the necessity of legislative action.
This means loot boxes won't fall under review of the UK's sweeping Gambling Act. However, some hard guidelines that represent the government's view are included: Loot box purchase should be unavailable to all children and young people unless enabled by a guardian, all players should have access to spending controls and transparent information, and the industry should give researchers improved access to data in order to gather better evidence and research to inform future policy.
"Our view is that it would be premature to take legislative action without first pursuing enhanced industry-led measures to deliver protections for children and young people and all players," said DCMS Secretary of State, the Rt. Hon. Nadine Dorries, MP, in her foreword to the report.
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