![]() ![]() In some territories, the Overwatch model would not be considered gambling as per existing laws, while the CS:GO model could be. This draws a line between loot boxes in a game like Overwatch, in which you can’t trade skins and sprays you get from boxes, and crates in a game like CS:GO, in which skin trading is a huge part of the metagame ecosystem. Transferability refers to whether or not the items you get in loot boxes can be transferred from one person to another, which could allow them to become a commodity in real money transactions. Much of the legal battle surrounding loot boxes revolves around the concepts of transferability, real money value, and publisher profits. A bill introduced in Washington state earlier this year would empower the state Gambling Commission to investigate the issue, and a different bill introduced in Minnesota in April would prohibit the sale of games selling loot boxes for real money to anyone under 18. However, some states are looking to take further steps. The US has no formal regulations specifically governing loot boxes, and there hasn’t been much movement to create any at the federal level. Right across the border in France, a gambling regulating body determined in July that loot boxes were not legally a form of gambling. The UK has opted to let industry self-regulation handle the issue, with Conservative Minister of State MP Margot James expressing trust that organizations like PEGI will “ to the industry to ensure that those who purchase and play video games are informed and protected." Elsewhere in the EU, aside from the aforementioned Netherlands and Belgium, no significant action against loot boxes has been taken so far. These recommendations have not yet been codified into legislation. It recommends that games with loot boxes carry a warning label ( the ESRB already does this in North America with their “In-Game Purchases” warning that came into use in February-and they asserted just this month that they do not believe loot boxes are gambling), and have their sale restricted only to people over the legal gambling age of 18. In Australia, which has notoriously tough regulations on electronic gaming, a 2018 investigation led a committee to find loot boxes are psychologically similar to gambling, especially to young people. In 2017, China passed a harsher law that outlawed virtual “lottery tickets,” leading Blizzard to remove the ability to buy Overwatch loot boxes with real money in that region-though they do somewhat cheekily get around it by offering loot boxes as a “free gift” when you purchase non-randomized in-game currency with real money. In China and South Korea, it is already required that any developer selling loot boxes in their games must disclose the probabilities of receiving any given reward. Blizzard, on the other hand, has elected to remove the ability to buy loot boxes with real money for Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm in Belgium to be in compliance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |