There is at least one lawmaker in Australia who feels very strongly about the matter of gaming lockboxes, apparently. Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the country’s parliament, has put forth a bill that would reclassify games that have lootboxes in them in order to effectively make them for adults only.
The bill proposes that “a computer game that contains a loot box must be classified R 18+ or RC,” with the former making the game available to adults only and the latter making sure the game cannot be sold, advertised, or imported in Australia according to the country’s classification website. In addition, the bill wants games with lootboxes to contain a warning.
“By tempting players with the potential to win game-changing items, encouraging risk-taking for possible reward, delivering random prizes on an intermittent basis, and encouraging players to keep spending money, loot boxes give rise to many of the same emotions and experiences associated with poker machines and traditional gambling activities,” reasons Wilkie in an associated explanatory memorandum. “This is especially concerning as many games which contain these features are popular with adolescents and young adults. Despite this, loot boxes are not currently required to be considered in classification decisions nor are games required to advertise when they contain this feature.”
As of right now, the bill has only been introduced, so there will probably be some time before we learn if it moves its way into law. Still, it would appear that Australia is looking to crack down.
