Australia Moves to Ban In-Game Loot Boxes for Under 18s
A member of parliament in Australia’s lower house has introduced a bill to outlaw the marketing of in-game loot boxes to under 18s. The sale of loot boxes towards minors is a controversial issue that many jurisdictions across Europe have begun drawing their own conclusions about. Australia has been wrestling this political issue for some while, and as several fundamental changes take place to gamble in the video gaming ecosystem take shape, this particular issue will be a watershed moment for campaigners on both sides of the debate.
Companies making games for the Xbox ecosystem are constantly developing in-game spending opportunities for players to enrich their experience. The extent to which this has become gambling is a grey zone at the very centre of this issue. ©Olichel/Pixabay
The first indication that Australian politicians were seeking to introduce a bill to block the sale of loot boxes had been swirling the halls of parliament since last summer. But the breakthrough came last week when it became clear a politician named Andrew Wilkie was in the advanced phase of progressing the bill towards legal status. Up until now the public outcry for action against loot box sales has largely gone unanswered.
Prior to a bill being debated in parliament, the custom usually exhibits a chance for the political figureheads involved in the debate a chance to view the full text of the legislation. This is yet to be provided so it is unclear how the legal justification will be made. One possibility is that Mr. Wilkie will argue the current availability of loot boxes in games aimed at minors is in violation of the classification rules which guarantee the safety of younger players.
The certainty over which approach Mr. Wilkie will take in his justification for bringing the bill to parliament remains to be seen. But what is for certain will be the bilateral support his bill will receive. Political commentators across Australia are firmly in agreement that the current justification for action is robust, and will likely be passed at the earliest convenience.
Video Games with Loot Box Mechanic Grooming Young Children
The major concern in Australia is to do with the long-term effect that loot box mechanics in games aimed at children has on the long-term mental health of the individual. Scientific studies have been carried out to find a link between adulthood compulsive gambling tendencies and particular games aimed at children. For these reasons, Mr. Wilkie is arguing that the games with loot box opportunities should be rated at 18+.
If this law change is approved then games featuring a loot box will come fitted with an advisory at the beginning of the game. This will become part of the classification ruling and it will warn players when launching the game that there is some potentially harmful game mechanics involved. This will not be too dissimilar from the current warnings games provide for depictions of drug use, coarse swear words or extreme violence.
Mr. Wilkie stopped short of accusing game developers of psychologically manipulating a compulsive gambling response from children, but he did criticize the repeated attempts of companies such as Electronic Arts in dismissing claims that loot boxes are gambling. Under any definition, a randomized event where cash is paid to participate and awards can be won, is in fact a gambling game.
The fact is companies involved in these methods are making cash hand over fist from the systemic exploitation of a small subset of their userbase. This reliable revenue stream has maintained the successes of many of the industry’s biggest household names. Including FIFA, Fortnite, and various app games where in-game purchases are enabled.
The Classification Amendment Bill Ready for August
The bill is still in its early phase and hasn’t yet been publicly put forward to other lawmakers to comb through the exact wording. As with all fundamental legal changes to the gambling law, nuance is an important factor, so lawmakers will want certain assurances before committing to back the bill.
Looking ahead at the proposed time horizon for the project, expectations are that the bill will be ready to hit the floor by mid-August. Questions around the scheduling of this process are already being tabled, and there is a major concern that Mr. Wilkie and his supporters have some ulterior motives around launching his bid to outlaw loot boxes at this particular moment.
Independent MPs as per usual will most likely sit on the fence. An important committee in this debate is the Parliamentary Friends of Video Games committee, and they will play an active role in passing judgment on the suitability of the text in the bill. Whether or not this push will have a bipartisan appeal remains to be seen. Its success will be greatly determined by its ability to pass through the House of Representatives at the end of this summer.
