Loot boxes should be regulated

is this being glossed over?

“Pokémon is a game for adults and kids have no business playing it.” Does that statement seem bizarre to you? Not according to PEGI, the European video game rating system that will now rate all games teaching gambling as mature. But while certain children's games like Pokémon may come with the occasional casino level and be branded for a mature audience, games with loot boxes get to keep a rating suited for all ages. Loot boxes are a randomized reward system implemented in games to entice players to continue buying boxes with random rewards in hopes of getting the items they desire. This sounds a lot like gambling to me, but PEGI doesn’t see it that way because PEGI does not deem loot boxes, card packs or any other similar randomized reward system as gambling. In PEGI’s eyes, gambling is only of the Las Vegas variety: slot machines and casinos galore. As a result, games like FIFA and NBA 2k20 get to extend their reach to children as young as three years old with their loot box mechanics, hooking them into lotteries at an extremely impressionable age. NBA 2k20 even openly contains a slot machine and a roulette wheel, so how

Loot boxes are not the devil incarnate. When properly designed, they can keep games afloat financially while providing players a fun way to gain items. The problem arises, however, when the companies that abuse the boxes skirt gambling regulations because they are considered virtual and up to the player’s choice. The fact that a loot box system does not often come with the aesthetics of a casino does not mean it is incapable of embodying all the traits of one. A study by Aaron Drummond and James D. Sauer found that loot box systems shared similarities with gambling, including how they’re designed to target players psychologically. Furthermore, the study gives a stark warning: young minds caught in these systems are more likely to develop devastating gambling habits. This is a sign that we cannot ignore. We need to take action because it’s clear that schemes like these lure the more vulnerable to spend heaps of money on the slim chance of winning more – all to the benefit of gaming conglomerates.

It’s no secret video game corporations want their coveted loot box systems to be left untouched since they provide them with billions in revenue. Millions have been spent in lobbying by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to preserve the status quo of industry ratings for companies such as Electronic Arts Inc., owner of FIFA. In a brazen show of arrogance, this same company claimed loot boxes were ethical when defending them in front of the U.K. Parliament, rebranding the boxes as “Surprise Mechanics” in a ploy to downplay the negative aspects of their random nature. It’s easy to see how such highend companies can bypass ratings with their influence and corporate talk; meanwhile, indie games like “Overboard!” are not so fortunate. A murder mystery that should at most be rated for teens has to settle with a mature audience rating due to a blackjack mini-game that involves no real money transfer. At the same time, with the ESA routinely shooting down any bill which even hints at loot boxes being a form of gambling targeted at children, largerevenue companies continue to exploit the highly impressionable for quick profit. This isn’t the first time a randomized reward mechanism has taken center stage in regulatory debates. Baseball