It's hard to utter the term "loot boxes" without accompanying them with a desperate sigh. It's the plague of conversation in the gaming industry, a topic that never seems to die, but it's also a topic that shouldn't die. Not yet. The UK Gambling Commission recently reiterated its view that jack-in-the-boxes are not "gambling" and once again the discussion is open to the point of whether that was indeed the case. Years ago we turned the loot debate around, we applaud the government authorities who have chosen to address the mechanics and evaluate each new game on the question of whether its developer has dared to include it.What is a chest loot? A loot box (or loot box) is an in-game feature that allows players to spend real money to open an item that contains other random items. Essentially, you're spending real-world money to open the box (or pay a key to open it, among other variations) without knowing what's in it: they can be good or bad. But who is really responsible for regulating the boxes? Most of the fingers indicate the governing body of each country. And, for the most part, these organizations have done their job. Belgium and the Netherlands have ruled that the chests are gambling and that the publishers risk jail time unless they remove the mechanic. Meanwhile, in China and South Korea, developers must disclose the probability of receiving jack-in-the-box rewards. However, it is only a small part of the world and not all countries' governing bodies will consider the issue worthy of consideration. Some who have conducted independent investigations, such as Poland, Australia, France, and the United States, have concluded that the mechanism is not the game, or have chosen not to investigate the issue further despite recommendations to do so, we look at you. in Australia. However, at least the investigations are ongoing. Even if they do not (probably not) give the result sought by the players. Although the ESRB states that chests are not gambling in the United States, some states are currently looking into their own legislation to combat this problem. That's what makes the UK Gambling Commission's recent comments about the so frustrating boxes of people working in the gambling and gambling industry, that's not enough.
here is the problem
FIFA Ultimate Packs count as loot boxes. (Image credit: EA) Speaking to the Ministry for Culture, Media and Sport select committee (via BBC), Neil McArthur, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission, admitted that the commission had "concerns Important" in relation to children playing video games with elements of spending and luck. However, McArthur said the law still dictates that loot boxes are still not "gambling." "There are other examples of things that look like gambling that the law says they aren't, like price competitions, but because they have a free game or a Free Entry, they don't play... but it looks a lot like a lottery. McArthur said. This is where the frustrations arise. In 2017, the UK Gambling Commission published a discussion paper on "Virtual Currency, Sports and Social Casino Gaming". In this article, it is stated that virtual items (such as those obtained from chests) are "rewards". "There are other examples of things that look like gambling that the law says they aren't, like price competitions, but because they have a free game or a free entry, they don't play... but it looks a lot like a lottery. ".
The chest problem.
Loot boxes come in many forms. (Image credit: NetherRealm Studios) Are loot boxes really bad, though? The main problem with loot boxes is that they are related to the game. There is a lot of research to show that luggage chests have the same psychological and structural characteristics as gambling: loot chests satisfy our psychological needs. of reward. For example, loot boxes use BF Skinner's variable rate program, a reward system generally used by casinos, which sees a person rewarded at random intervals. You never know when he'll be rewarded, but the rush he feels every time he does requires him to come back for longer. Regardless of your point of view on gambling, most governments feel that it should be regulated. A bigger problem arises when considering the number of children who play video games. A study by the UK Gambling Commission revealed that 31% of 2.865 respondents aged 16-18 had opened a video game box, while 3% had gambled with in-game items. Add to that an Australian study of letterboxes as "gambling" and that "some demographic groups were particularly vulnerable to the risks posed by letterboxes, including children, people with Impulse and people with mental health problems." hand. I'm sure the mother of the boy who spent €550 on FIFA Ultimate Packs agrees with us...
he says she says
That's right... even Candy Crush is guilty. (Image credit: Rey) How do you solve a problem like loot boxes? According to the UK Gambling Commission, you leave it to those who actually make money from the mechanic. solid plan. The commission encourages the gaming industry to self-regulate. In the aforementioned document, the organization stated that it would "link to game publishers and/or network operators who might inadvertently enable criminal activity." So two years later? What does this link look like? "The Gaming Commission stood up to the nasty developers, waving their fingers and saying, 'Don't do that again' and hoping they'll listen." "We said (in the video game industry) that it's not enough to say we don't want that to happen," said Brad Enright, director of programs for the UK Gambling Commission. Do you have T & C, what do you do to apply them? Essentially, the Gambling Commission stood up to the nasty developers, waving their fingers and saying "don't do it again", hoping they'd listen to them. It also chose to focus on the symptoms of the problem rather than the disease. itself, shutting down skin betting sites instead of regulating a practice that research shows has psychological ties to gambling.It must be painful with all these flurries of fence-sitting.
It's not all bad luck.
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At least Gears 5 won't have a chest... (Image credit: The Coalition) Although the UK Gaming Commission has had little response to the issue, developers seem to be putting less sophisticated mechanisms in place - the Coalition recently announced that Gears 5 would not have a Seasonal or Jack-in-the-box pass. But this positive change does not seem to be the result of the governing bodies, but rather of the reactions of the players. The gaming community is clearly despised when it comes to game boxes or pay-to-win features in games, with forums like Reddit abuzz with discussions of the practice. Regardless, we're glad this is happening. But it looks like it's about time the British Gambling Commission and complacent governing bodies need to draw a line and stop there, because there will always be another loot box debate.