Video games companies and platforms must do more to make sure children can not make in-game purchases – known as ‘loot boxes’ – without their parents’ consent, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said today.
Loot boxes are a type of in-game purchase in some video games. Players can purchase a loot box with real money to receive random items, including “power-ups” to help a player compete better in the game and cosmetic items, such as virtual clothing.
Research has found that players who have purchased loot boxes may be more likely to experience gambling, mental health, financial and problem gaming-related harms. The risk may also be higher for children and young people.
To protect players, the Government is calling for the purchase of loot boxes to be made unavailable to children and young people unless they are approved by a parent or guardian.
Some games platforms, such as Xbox, have already taken steps to improve protections, such as including options that require parental permission for under-18s to spend money within games. The Government wants to build on this with strong protections for children across the entire games industry and will not hesitate to consider legislation if companies do not bring in sufficient measures to keep players safe.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said:
We want to stop children going on spending sprees online without parental consent, spurred on by in-game purchases like loot-boxes.
Games companies and platforms need to do more to ensure that controls and age-restrictions are applied so that players are protected from the risk of gambling harms. Children should be free to enjoy gaming safely, whilst giving parents and guardians the peace of mind they need.
Games companies and platforms should provide spending controls and transparent information to all players. Protections should support the minority of players who spend a disproportionate amount of money on loot boxes, and who may be at a greater risk of harm.
A new working group, convened by DCMS, will bring together games companies, platforms and regulatory bodies to develop industry-led measures to protect players and reduce the risk of harm. This will include measures such as parental controls, and making sure transparent, accessible information is available to all players.
The call for evidence also found a need for better evidence to improve understanding of the positive and negative impacts of video games. The Government will launch a Video Games Research Framework to support this.
