Asked by Lord Foster of Bath To ask His Majesty’s Government what
measures they are planning to take to mitigate the risks caused by
loot boxes in video games. Lord Foster of Bath (LD) My Lords, in
begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order
Paper, I declare an interest as chairman of Peers for Gambling
Reform. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay)
(Con)...Request free trial
Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures they are planning
to take to mitigate the risks caused by loot boxes in video
games.
(LD)
My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper, I declare an interest as chairman of
Peers for Gambling Reform.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Culture, Media and Sport ( of Whitley Bay) (Con)
We welcome new industry-led guidance to strengthen player
protections in relation to loot boxes. We have agreed a 12-month
implementation period, during which we expect the industry to
work with players, parents, academics, consumer groups and
government bodies to implement this guidance in full. We are
working closely with academics to support independent scrutiny of
these new measures, and we will provide further updates and keep
under review our position on possible future legislative
options.
(LD)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. There is a very
long list of those calling for tougher action on loot boxes,
which computer games players purchase to have a random chance of
getting items to help them win—each an expensive gamble. The
Government’s own research review showed a
“consistent association between loot box use and problem
gambling”,
yet they still leave parents and the games industry itself to
deal with these problems. The Select Committees in both Houses
and many other people believe that loot boxes should be treated
and regulated as gambling. Can the Minister explain why the
Government rightly regulate the gambling industry but do not
regulate loot boxes, which cause similar harms to individuals and
society?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Research has provided evidence that loot box purchases may be
linked to a variety of harms. In particular, there is robust
evidence of an association with problem gambling, as the noble
Lord mentions, but research has not established whether a causal
relationship exists. There are a range of plausible explanations.
We have developed and published the video games research
framework to support high-quality, independent research into
video games, including into loot boxes. If new evidence becomes
available, we will consider it.
(Con)
My Lords, I heap praise on the noble Lord, Lord Foster, who has
been a great supporter of the video games industry, although I do
not agree with him on loot boxes. I am sure that he and the
Minister will have seen the recent report from the Association
for UK Interactive Entertainment, the trade body for video games,
showing how this industry, which is bigger than film, television
and music put together, has huge benefits for our wider economy,
including the automotive and health sectors. Does the Minister
agree with me that it is important not to overregulate such a
successful industry? I refer to my entry in the register.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
My noble friend is right to point to the huge success of the UK
consumer games market. It is currently valued at more than £7
billion, which is more than double its size in 2013—during my
noble friend’s heyday as the Minister responsible for it. The
industry employs 27,000 people across the country, with nearly
80% of those people based outside London; there are video games
clusters in Dundee, Sheffield, Manchester, Guildford and Royal
Leamington Spa. The growth has of course been accelerated by
generous tax reliefs, including those on which my noble friend
worked in government. We are very proud of the impact that it has
on our wider creative industries.
(Lab)
My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on his careful Answer to
this Question. Is it not a fact that this research has been done
at Loughborough University with, I think, only 42 families
participating, with children from five to 17? We know from other
studies on computer games in general that long-term harm is not
clearly established with most of these games. It may of course be
different with loot boxes, but I rather think that it is
important to continue research before one comes to
legislation.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for those comments. As I said in both my
original and subsequent replies to the noble Lord, Lord Foster,
we are working closely with academics to support independent
scrutiny of the industry-led measures that are being taken, and
we want to see how those work and bed in. We have developed and
published a research framework so that there can be independent
and rigorous analysis to give us the evidence that we need to
inform policy-making.
(CB)
My Lords, players who buy loot boxes, including young people, are
often victims of well-known psychological techniques to nudge
them towards purchasing ever-greater features in the loot boxes.
These include special, time-limited offers, price anchoring and
the obfuscation of costs. Is the Minister satisfied that
self-regulation will stop these behaviours in the loot box
market?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
As the noble Viscount will know, we have taken action more widely
to ensure that people at risk of gambling harm, including
children and vulnerable people, are protected. We want to ensure
that people are able to play video games safely online and to
enjoy them, but also to be protected against any harms that may
occur. That is why we are keen to see the industry-led guidelines
being implemented and why we will monitor their impact
closely.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, has any action been taken to prevent the gambling
industry targeting compulsive gamblers who are trying very hard
to stop?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Yes, we have taken action including strengthening the land-based
age-verification regime; we have taken steps to target online
adverts away from children; and, of course, we have increased the
minimum age to participate in society lotteries and football
pools to 18. The Committee of Advertising Practice also updated
advertising rules last year, so that gambling adverts cannot be
designed in a way that has a strong appeal to children.
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord, , referred to research at
Loughborough University that focused on a sample of children from
five to 17. Is my noble friend aware of research on older age
groups? We know that people continue to play games well into
their 40s, 50s and 60s, and that will have an impact on potential
addiction not only to games but to loot boxes.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I am not, but I shall take my noble friend’s very good question
back to the gambling team at the department and encourage it to
make sure that we are pursuing research that will add to our
understanding of the implications for all age groups.
(Lab)
My Lords, whether it is the two-year gap between the Government’s
call for evidence and their response, or the further year-long
wait for the games industry to announce guidelines, efforts to
tackle child access to loot boxes and other in-game features with
gambling-like features have been far too slow, in our view. Like
others, we hope that voluntary arrangements will work, but if
they do not, can the Minister confirm whether the Government have
a specific regulatory approach in mind? If so, how long might
implementation take?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
We think the industry-led guidance on loot boxes has the
potential, if fully implemented, to improve protections and to
meet the Government’s objectives. We expect the games industry to
implement the guidance in full and we will monitor that
carefully. If the industry is unable to meet our objectives,
there are a range of options that the Government may consider,
but we would like to see how they bed in first.
(LD)
My Lords, will the Minister give us a little opinion? If he had
to buy something else via a lucky dip, such as shirts or socks—it
may happen at Christmas, we may think—would he be happy? The fact
of the matter is that we are actually saying, “You are not buying
what you think you are buying; you may have to go back again and
again to get that product”. Even without the gambling element
here, or the gambling similarity, that cannot be right.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Under the terms of the Gambling Act, gambling is defined as
“playing a game of chance for a prize”
of money or something of money’s worth. The prizes that can be
won via most loot boxes do not have a monetary value; they cannot
be cashed out and they are of value only within the context of
the games. They do not meet the definition, and I do not think
they quite meet the analogy that the noble Lord made.
(CB)
My Lords, is the issue of loot boxes not just part of the wider
issue of in-app purchases in games? Does the Minister agree that
we need more transparency on the whole idea of games and how they
are funded?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Yes, we are committed to ensuring that video games can be enjoyed
safely and responsibly by everyone. To support that, we are
working closely with the Games Rating Authority, which ensures
that all games are appropriately rated. That includes information
for those who buy them on what they can expect from their
purchases. We have also, as I say, developed and published the
video games research framework to support high-quality,
independent research into games, and that is an important tool to
augment our understanding of the impact of playing video
games.
(Con)
My Lords, sadly I do not have any relevant interests to declare
in the way that my noble friend has. He is right
about the importance of the video game industry but, as a parent
of three children, I am pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Foster,
has raised this issue, because my son, at not much more than 10
years of age, suddenly spent several hundred pounds on a video
game precisely because of this sort of entrapment. We need to
keep a weather-eye on this. I encourage the Government to realise
that when your child plays a video game, you expect them to play
a video game, and when they gamble, you expect them to gamble. At
the moment, the lines are too blurred.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I point my noble friend to the response the Government issued to
the extensive call for evidence on loot boxes. We were very clear
that loot boxes should not be purchased by children unless
enabled by a parent or guardian; that all players should have
access to spending controls and transparent information about
what to expect; and that better evidence and research should be
developed to inform future policy-making. We are taking all those
steps forward as we look to see the industry implementing the
guidance over the next 12 months.
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