Loot Boxes: New-Zealand Takes A Stance

General news News 12/13/2017

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The UK situation is still somewhat grim, though.

Let’s get the New-Zealand comment out of the way first: their local gambling committee told Gamasutra that loot boxes do not meet the legal definition of gambling, adding that players don’t buy them to earn money, or to gain items to make money out of them. They are pretty much staying on the sidelines.

The UK Gambling Commission, however, has released its end-year Young People and Gambling report, with a somewhat shocking result… 45% of the asked children between the age of 11 and 16 knew about skin gambling (all we need to say is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), and 11% of them already placed bets with in-game items. That is a large ratio.

BBC went a step further: according to them, just last week, 370 thousand 11-16-year-old children has spent money on gambling in Wales, Scotland, and England, although they say that all forms of gambling are included (slot machines, scratch cards, and wagers with friends), adding that in 2011, the ratio was 23%, which was twice as high as this year. The prevalence of gambling with in-game items increase with age, and was higher among children who spent money on other forms of gambling online.

The kids are entering the system quite early, and it’s true that in CS: GO, rare skins are sold for a ton of money…

Source: Gamasutra, UKGC, BBC

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Angyal Anikó

Anikó, our news editor and communication manager, is more interested in the business side of the gaming industry. She worked at banks, and she has a vast knowledge of business life. Still, she likes puzzle and story-oriented games, like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is her favourite title. She also played The Sims 3, but after accidentally killing a whole sim family, swore not to play it again. (For our office address, email and phone number check out our IMPRESSUM)