The future of loot boxes in Britain

We don’t call them loot boxes…we look at them as surprise mechanics.” 

This was the infamous statement made by Kerry Hopkins, EA’s Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs, when questioned about the ethics of loot boxes and if they should be considered gambling.

On 19 June 2019, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee met with EA and Epic Games to discuss their use of loot boxes and if it corresponded with gambling. By making comparisons to Kinder Surprise Eggs, Hopkins argued that EA’s incorporation of loot boxes shouldn’t be considered gambling, stating them to be “quite ethical and fun.” Despite this defence, in September 2019, the Commons Select Committee published a report calling “to regulate video game ‘loot boxes’ under gambling law and ban their sale to children among measures needed to protect players.” 

However, recently there has been a significant development. The House of Lords Gambling Committee has come forward and classified loot boxes as a form of gambling that should, therefore, be ascribed to the Gambling Act 2005. On 2 July 2020, a report from the House of Lords stated that “the government must act immediately to bring loot boxes within the remit of gambling legislation and regulation.” This development has suggested that like other countries who have banned loot boxes such as Belgium and the Netherlands, the UK could be next. 

Due to the ever-strengthening position of the House of Lords on the topic, many are wondering if this could be the start of restricting loot boxes

In other countries, the suggestion of banning loot boxes has been a recurring topic, with governments all over the world potentially starting to take action. 

In “Protecting the age of innocence”, a document published by the Parliament of Australia in February this year, the impact of loot boxes is heavily explored. The document clearly classifies loot boxes as a “gambling-type feature”, stating that “the rise of loot boxes and skin betting has seen young people introduced to the same mechanisms that underpin gambling.” 

Later in the document, the proposal suggests the possibility of “restricting access to loot boxes and other simulated gambling elements in video games to adults aged 18 years or over.” In 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission banned loot boxes, with Minister of Justice Koen Greens stating it was in the name of “the protection of minors”, as the nature of the loot boxes “was very worrying.” A study requested by the IMCO committee published this July, entitled “Loot boxes in online games and their effect on consumers”, explores the possible future action that can be taken due to the “similarities between loot boxes and gambling.” This attitude has also been seen in America, as in 2019, Senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill to prohibit loot boxes due to their risk to underage customers. 

Despite different countries slowly classifying the practice of loot boxes as gambling, companies such as EA are still adamant that the practice shouldn’t be viewed as such. However, due to the ever-strengthening position of the House of Lords on the topic, many are wondering if this could be the start of restricting loot boxes and what this means for the future of gaming, particularly with the PS5 and Xbox Series X on the horizon.