Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (): The Government has today
published an update on improvements to industry-led protections
for loot boxes in video games. Loot boxes are features in some
video games that contain apparently randomised items. They may be
purchased with money (including via virtual currencies) or
accessed via gameplay.
The Government response(opens in a
new tab) to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video
games (July 2022) found an association between loot box purchases
and problem gambling, but evidence has not established whether a
causal relationship exists. The Government response set out the
view that:
- purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children
and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or
guardian
- all players should have access to, and be aware of, spending
controls and transparent information to support safe and
responsible gameplay
- better evidence and research, enabled by improved access to
data, should be developed to inform future policy making on loot
boxes and video games more broadly
Since then, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
has convened a Technical Working Group of games industry
representatives tasked with improving industry-led protections
with regards to loot boxes. The output of the working group is
industry-led guidance on paid loot boxes, coordinated and
published by
video games trade body Ukie(opens in a new tab). Academics,
the Games Rating Authority (GRA), the Information Commissioner's
Office (ICO) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have
participated in the group, and DCMS has facilitated engagement
with Ukie on its proposal, including through a Players and
Parents Panel.
The Government welcomes this new guidance published by Ukie
which, if fully implemented, has the potential to enhance player
protections in line with the objectives set out in the Government
response.
We are now calling on the games industry to work closely with
players, parents, academics, consumer groups and Government
authorities to adopt and implement the guidance in full, and
continue to improve protections for players.
To meet the objective of improving the evidence base on loot
boxes and video games more broadly, DCMS has collaborated with
academics, industry, other Government departments and Research
Councils to develop a Video Games Research
Framework(opens in a new tab) which was published in May. The
Government welcomes independent academic scrutiny, facilitated by
the Research Framework, to assess the effectiveness and
implementation of industry-led protections and, more broadly, how
best to ensure player safety with regards to loot boxes.
The Government will keep its position on possible future
legislative options under review, informed by the effectiveness
of implementation of industry-led measures and academic scrutiny.
We will provide further updates in due course, following a
12-month implementation period for this new industry guidance.
