The news has just fallen in Spain. After much deliberation, loot boxes are now considered games of chance. Just like in Belgium, these payin...
Paid loot boxes
According to the EEE agency, the director general of gaming regulation, Mikel Arana , has just announced that the government considers loot boxes to be online casinos. The online gaming industry, which is currently enjoying great success throughout the world, is also subject to certain regulations. Internet users today have access to many gambling platforms such as the Royal Vegas online casino .
Numerous studies have confirmed that certain video games are based on the same strategies implemented by online casinos or by slot machines. This similarity with gambling would be scrupulously concealed in certain video games to avoid regulations. After being banned in Belgium, it's Spain's turn to review the regulations around loot boxes, which are booming.
The loot boxes will now have to comply with some regulations similar to gambling. The ban on advertising in certain advertising spaces or asking for proof of age will be imperatives to have access to these loot boxes. The goal is to regulate access to these loot boxes, in order to better protect minors.
Consumer protection
The objective of MEPs is to protect consumers. The European Union is trying to better regulate video games that ask Internet users for money to evolve with the best avatars in the game. Young users, who are looking for virtual rewards on their favorite video games, are the prey easier. Europe plans to curb the development of loot boxes, which can in particular push miners to play longer or spend more money than expected.
This issue, which concerns consumer protection, is taken very seriously by MEPs. According to surveys conducted among gamers, some of them spend large sums to evolve in a game. Regarding a study on children, they would be 76% among 6-15 year olds to spend time in front of video games in Europe. About 36% of minors would spend money to advance in video games.
A special “in-app purchases” logo
For information, the PEGI imposes for two years the logo "in-app purchases" for video games, which offer to buy virtual goods in exchange for very real sums of money. This logo, which has existed since 2018, will now be accompanied by the mention entitled “random paid elements”.
This signage, long-awaited by a large number of parents worried about their children, will in particular make it possible to better monitor “physical” purchases made online. Some parents have not hesitated for a single second to install parental controls to annihilate any impulse to buy.
