Australian MP calls for loot boxes to be rated 18+
Andrew Wilkie introduces new bill to protect minors from what he describes as “insidious gambling activities” in video games
Independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie is demanding that video games with loot boxes be made illegal for those under 18.
The 62-year-old wants to see loot boxes be clearly labelled and rated with an R (Restricted) classification as part of his bill to amend to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995.
In a presentation to parliament, Wilkie shared that research conducted by the Australia Gaming Council found 52% of recently released video games contained loot boxes.
He said: “Disturbingly, the study also found that young people who had used loot boxes were more likely to have gambled in the last 12 months, have gamed more frequently, spent more money gambling and had more gambling problems.”
Wilkie added that due to the use of loot boxes in video games, young people have a more positive viewpoint on gambling.
He said that due to this evidence, it was down to the government to add these amendments to better protect young people’s exposure to “insidious gambling activities in their video games”.
“The changes proposed in my bill will go a long way in ensuring that this predatory in-game behaviour is no longer allowed to continue unchecked,” he concluded.
This call for action comes as Australia is in the midst of an ongoing examination into its gambling practices.
In September, the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs began an inquiry into the industry.
Loot boxes have been a hot topic of discussion worldwide in recent years, with countries such as Belgium outright banning the mechanism.
In July, the UK’s former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries stated that the practice would not be banned in the forthcoming white paper on the Gambling Act 2005 review. At the time, she called for developers and publishers to take more action to protect young people.