Children’s Commissioner calls for under-18s to be protected from “harmful” loot boxes

The Children’s Commissioner for England has hit out at the government for not banning loot boxes in video games.

A statement from the office of the Children’s Commissioner has pointed out that the purchases of loot boxes – digital crates that are purchased to unlock game rewards – can cause children to “chase their losses”.

This comes after it was reported on 18 July that the upcoming white paper on the Gambling Act 2005 review would not ban loot boxes, despite the suggestion that there is a link between in-game purchases and gambling.

The statement, which comes from the office of Rachel de Souza, points out that 93% of children in the UK play computer games and that loot boxes can promote “harmful behaviours among children”.

De Souza, who assumed her role in March 2021, has been tasked with improving the safety of children when they go online.

Having undertaken extensive research into the prevalence of loot boxes, the office urged that the “government should listen to children and parents to take firm action to prevent under-18s from buying loot boxes”.

An example highlighted in the open letter talks about the FIFA series football game, produced by EA Sports.

“The probability of receiving a FIFA Gold 84+ player can be as little as 4.2%,” the letter said.

This was pinpointed as a reason that children spend more to try and chase should they not procure the player they desire.

“The current legal definition of gambling, under the Gambling Act 2005, falls short of capturing loot boxes,” the letter continued.

Section six of the 2005 Gambling Act highlights the act of playing a game of chance for a prize and de Souza wants this particular section to be extended to include loot boxes.

The video game industry contributes almost £3bn annually to the UK economy, while a report from the Gambling Health Alliance in December 2020 found 31% of young gamers struggle to track their spending on loot boxes.