Video games are fun—that’s the whole purpose of their existence, after all. However, for a very long time, there’s been concern about the addictiveness of games, similar to considerations about how addictive social media or the internet can be. However, a more recent development in gaming makes the addiction argument more pressing.
These days, a lot of video games contain loot boxes, which when bought with in-game credits or real money, give you a random selection of items, with the chance to get some that are considered rare. Games with loot boxes are required to mention that in their advertising, at least in the UK, but some have been found ignoring that regulation.
Loot Boxes Are Akin To Gambling And Regulators Require Ads To Disclose If A Game Has Them
These days, many games have currencies you can use to buy special items, costumes, weapons, and so on. While some simply let you purchase them outright, others only give you the opportunity to get them by chance. A good example of that is EA’s FIFA titles, which let you win player cards through packs, and you have the opportunity to spend your hard-earned dollars or pounds to buy more packs, in your search for a rare player.
Unfortunately, to the keen, you might see how this presents a large problem. In their quest for a specific player or something considered rare, some people might end up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on these digital loot boxes, in the hope of a big return. For many, that’s a bit too close to gambling.
Considering gambling is already a heavily regulated industry, the last thing you want is to potentially give children access to that. That’s why many countries around the world have regulations in place for games containing loot boxes. In the UK for instance, one regulation requires ads for games that have loot boxes to clearly state that they have loot boxes.
The BBC Found That Less Than 5% Of The Highest-Grossing Android Games Abided By The Rules
Unfortunately, despite these rules being in place, if you’re a parent, you should still be concerned, as the majority of the most popular Android titles don’t even follow these rules in the first place. That’s relatively unsurprising.
The BBC conducted an investigation that found that a mere 2 of the top 45 highest-grossing games in the Google Play Store properly disclosed the presence of loot boxes in their games. All the others just flouted the rules. That includes very popular titles like Monopoly GO. If you have children, it’s important to keep this in mind.
This is problematic, as many people aren’t very aware of the intrinsic dangers of loot boxes in the first place. You don’t want to have to get to the point where you’re thousands of dollars deep into loot boxes before you realize that there might be a problem. Unfortunately, without rock-solid regulations, game developers won’t stop, as loot boxes are a major revenue source.
