AGSA: Says Loot Boxes Serve as Gateway to Gambling

Australian youths may be exposed to too much gambling, argues the Australian Gaming and Screen Alliance, which is concerned about the lack of adequate measures that safeguard youngsters from the dangers of mechanisms such as loot boxes. According to the organization, gambling addiction is a serious issue that has not been addressed adequately in the country and that can have serious physical and psychological issues.

Australian Youths Continue to Spend Heavily on Loot Boxes

The organization takes issue with both loot boxes, which are digital containers that can award a certain prize based on probability and even actual wagers on the outcome of competitive video gaming. Professor John Saunders, a chair for the Alliance, has criticized these monetization mechanisms, arguing that they constitute a gateway to gambling which has not been addressed properly.

Saunders cited the accounts of people who claimed that they had missing money in the thousands because their children had used them to make in-game purchases or buy loot boxes. This has led to financial problems and ruin, and to make things worse, the community at large was not aware of the pernicious impact that these loot boxes may have.

Because of the lack of appreciation of the negative consequences of the problem, young people will continue to be exposed to harmful gambling-like products that create a generation that struggles with reckless spending habits and has other issues later in life. The Alliance has taken stock of 19 studies, trying to dig into the nitty-gritty of each and leverage data, finding connections between loot boxes and problem gambling.

Categorizing Loot Boxes as Gambling Comes with Challenges

Not everyone is happy to brand loot boxes as a form of gambling, though, and in the lack of global effort to see them as such, first-movers may pass legislation at the expense of their own traditional game development industries. For example, the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association has cautioned of the severe consequences that categorizing loot boxes could have on the industry.

The Australian Gaming and Screen Alliance has similarly explained that there was a growing number of cases where young people were becoming infatuated with video games and their in-game purchases that led to more drastic behavior and spending patterns. Yet, the Alliance notes that parents, society at large, and stakeholders are poorly equipped to identify the issue and address it head-on.