The UK government could classify loot boxes as gambling following an upcoming call for evidence, The Guardian reports.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is set to call for evidence over concern loot boxes are training children to gamble.
Currently in the UK, loot boxes are not considered gambling, which means they are not regulated by the Gambling Commission.
If the government were to classify loot boxes as gambling, it would force games that include them to carry an 18 age rating – or their developers to change the way they work so they could be sold to people under 18.
One game that could be impacted is FIFA, which as part of the lucrative Ultimate Team mode sells loot boxes in the form of card packs. Publisher EA generates billions of dollars from the sale of loot boxes in its Ultimate Team modes.
Loot boxes are already classified as gambling in some countries, such as Belgium. Back in January 2019, EA agreed to follow other games and specifically stop selling FIFA points, the game’s virtual currency that is bought with real-world money and spent on packs, in the country. This means in Belgium, Ultimate Team packs can only be bought with a virtual currency earned in-game, and not bought with real-world money.