The Government wants to regulate betting and gambling in video games, a measure that will affect loot boxes (known as loot boxes), to micropayments and many monetization systems. This has been a recurring theme in the industry for several years. Countries such as the United States have on many occasions raised the possibility of regulating games of chance in electronic entertainment and Belgium chose years ago to prohibit these systems in games accessible to minors. And now it seems that our turn has come.
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, headed by Pablo Bustinduy, places the focus of this new measure on the loot boxesa chance-based monetization system: players buy virtual coins with real money, and then spend these coins to open packs with surprise prizes. Perhaps the most famous loot boxes are the booster packs. FIFA Ultimate Team.
A Brief History of Loot Boxes
Already in 2020, the director of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) warned of the dangers of loot boxeswhich can cause addiction. A few years ago, loot boxes were one of the most prevalent monetization systems in the big-budget industry. We have already talked about the envelopes of the FIFAbut the knives of the Counter Strike or games like Call of Duty, Overwatch or any multiplayer title as a service.
The golden age of loot boxes It was at the beginning of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation, starting in 2013. It was very common for most games to have these monetization systems, in addition to very abusive micropayments. Things began to change in 2017 with the great debacle of Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Electronic Arts – authors of the FIFA and considered the most evil company in the United States for years – destroyed Star Wars: Battlefront 2 from within, filling it with loot boxes and absurd systems, to such a point that they ended up rectifying and listening to their community.
Image from the video game ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’
In 2017 there was a turning point, the focus was placed on the problem, but it was not resolved. In 2019, 2K Games revived the controversy by including a casino – yes, literally a casino – in the game NBA 2K20a sports title that many minors also played.
Over the years, the big-budget video game industry has moved away from loot boxes in favor of other monetization systems. Many countries, such as Belgium or even the United States, began to propose possible regulations on the sector. Fortnite made fashionable Battle Passes and the industry migrated to methods that were also abusive, but with less element of chance.
Promotional image of a ‘Fortnite’ Battle Pass
The loot boxes they still exist. Games like EA Sports FC (the old FIFA) or the NBA 2K They base their income almost entirely on loot boxes. Furthermore, in the titles Free-to-Play or mobile games, are something very common.
The risks of ‘loot boxes’
The main problem of the loot boxes derives from chance. The addictive potential of these mechanisms is similar to that of slot machines: you bet on the possibility of winning that big prize that you crave so much. But getting the best player in the FIFA or that knife Counter Strike It is as difficult as getting the number right on roulette or getting a 7 7 7.
Additionally, video game companies have for years worked with psychologists and gambling experts to make their monetization mechanisms more addictive. And they have included them in titles whose audience is largely minors.
The good news about loot boxes is that they are not necessary in any video game. They contribute nothing and are intrinsically bad for both the work and the audience. So they can be eliminated, we all win. There is no game that is better to have loot boxesjust as there is no game that gets worse when you remove abusive monetization systems.
The ministry’s proposal
Image of a ‘loot box’ in the video game ‘Overwatch’
The goal of Pablo Bustinduy’s ministry is to create safer environments for children and adolescents. So they propose prohibiting the access of minors to digital content with these components of chance. It is a proposal very similar to the law that has been operating in Belgium for years, where only those of legal age can access games with loot boxes.
This forces companies to create effective age control methods, since if they do not do so, they can be sanctioned. Although the most interesting route is self-censorship: many large video game companies directly choose to eliminate these systems and thus their games can reach a larger audience. Typically, large publishers prefer to avoid the “Adults Only” seal on their products.
Image from the video game ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’
In 2020, the former Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, promised to regulate loot boxes and elements of chance in video games, although it was never widely applied. Now, in 2024, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 puts the issue back on the table. Although, at the moment, it has only presented a draft bill, so it will still take many months to see how all this affects the video game sector.
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