Microtransactions: the Future of Games? (LootBoxes and Gambling)

You would think so, wouldn't you? But even though the condition is recognised by the WHO, in terms of passing laws, there isn't actually a huge body of evidence specific enough to draft legislation - and the UK is fairly liberal in such regards, i.e. sex is legal at 16, alcohol at 18 or even lower ages in moderation under partner/guardian supervision. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

That's at 5 years old IIRC.

*hic*

 

What's the problem with the live-game model? Is it better when developers make a game and then people consume it in two weeks and then they would move on to the next game? I don't think it's great when you work on a game for multiple years and people play it for two weeks and then don't touch it anymore. On the other hand there are still many players playing Reinbow Six, League of Legends, GTA V etc. Then there are many games with community driven content. I would say that this kind of involvement of the gaming community is great.

 

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/01/...g-young-people-into-under-the-radar-gambling/

UK NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch has today called on gaming companies to crack down on gambling addiction risks by banning loot boxes from their products.

Ms Murdoch has warned video game firms that they risk “setting kids up for addiction” by building gambling tasks into their games.

“Frankly no company should be setting kids up for addiction by teaching them to gamble on the content of these loot boxes. No firm should sell to children loot box games with this element of chance, so yes those sales should end.

“Young people’s health is at stake, and although the NHS is stepping up with these new, innovative services available to families through our Long Term Plan, we cannot do this alone, so other parts of society must do what they can to limit risks and safeguard children’s wellbeing.”


Ms Murdoch has called on gaming companies to:

• Ban sales of games with loot boxes that encourage children to gamble
• Introduce fair and realistic spending limits to prevent people from spending thousands in games
• Make clear to users what percentage chance they have of obtaining the items they want before they purchase loot boxes
• Support parents by increasing their awareness on the risks of in-game spending

​

 

The first two I can't agree with.
Adults need to have the choice to overspend if they wish to. If this choice doesn't come legally, they'll just resort to illegal practices that pay no taxes and increase criminality.

What they need to do is make the games adult-only if they encourage the player to gamble. And then force all of the retail games' covers and digital marketing material to always mention it's an adult-only game because it contains gambling with real money.
Games' covers should need to have something like 25% of its area with a big fat warning, like they do with e.g. cigarettes, and they should be clearly marked and separated from other non-adult games in retail stores.

Do that with e.g. a FIFA game and these practices will end within a month.

 

Indeed, better than the surgeon general's warning.

 

The UK is talking about loot boxes again as The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are calling for evidence.

UK could class loot boxes as gambling to protect children
Ministers call for evidence on video games such as Fifa that charge money for rewards

Loot boxes – a controversial element of video games – could be reclassified as gambling products over concern they are training children to gamble.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will this week launch a call for evidence on the increasingly common feature of games such as the football franchise Fifa.

...

However, the DCMS select committee heard evidence last year that loot box winnings can be easily exchanged for cash on third-party websites and that their use by game developers was likely to “facilitate profiting from problem gamblers”.

In a subsequent report, the influential committee advised that they should be considered gambling products.

“They are a virtually speculative commodity that only help to normalise and encourage young people to take a chance,” said the Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who chairs a cross-party group of MPs investigating gambling-related harm.

“All too often this will lead to youngsters developing an addiction to gambling.”

Loot boxes are already deemed gambling products in countries including Belgium, where some companies have had to pull their games from the market.

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2...ss-loot-boxes-as-gambling-to-protect-children​

 

Do they draw the line at the exchange of real money or could it encompass RNG loot, for example, bought with in-game currency?

 

It's also illegal if done with in-game currency, but only in the in-game law, punishable with in-game encarceration.

 

The law is ancient and only considers the exchange of money as gambling. Gambling your car, house, or children isn't gambling...

 

<_>