US Federal Trade Commission agrees to investigate loot boxes

At the request of Senator Maggie Hassan, the US Federal Trade Commission will begin investigating loot boxes to see if they are related to gambling.

The US Federal Trade Commission (US FTC) will investigate loot boxes. Committee Chairman Joseph Simmons was asked to investigate by Senator Maggie Hassan, who had previously raised concerns about loot boxes.

Hassan asked the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to investigate how it rates games with loot boxes earlier this year, and warned that she would ask the FTC to join if they ignored it. However, the ESA (ESRB supervisory board) is hesitant about this.

ESA President Micahel Gallagher defended loot boxes in May and said the probation would hinder the gaming industry’s ability to “continue to experiment with new business models”. He does not believe that loot boxes have anything to do with gambling.

“When you read the definitions of gambling around the world, and the way it’s done and regulated in places like Las Vegas and the US, it’s quite different from the loot box system in the game.” Michael said.

Gallagher suggested self-management, but Hassan objected. Specifically, she worries it will affect children.

“Loot boxes are now the default in the video game industry and are present in everything from entertaining mobile games to high-investment new titles,” she said. “Loot boxes will account for $50 trillion of the industry by 2020, according to the latest estimates from the research firm. It is easy for children to participate in transactions in the games above – they are considered an integral part of video games.”

She then cited evidence from the UK Gambling Commission, which said the report found that the use of loot boxes increased the likelihood of minors gambling. However, this report does not combine loot boxes with gambling into one, or imply that loot boxes can lead to gambling.

“In the survey, we didn’t say it was gambling,” said a representative from the Gambling Commission. “The reason we asked that question is because this topic is so popular and we wanted to try and make sure we had as much information and data around it as possible.”

This is not to say that the investigation is of no value. That’s why the UK Gambling Commission asked about loot boxes in its survey, however the topic could be more detailed than just a piece of text. For example, a more detailed investigation into how loot boxes are promoted or how families can learn about it themselves would actually be more helpful.

After raising his concerns and asking the FTC to investigate, Simmons agreed.

The ESA continues to defend loot boxes, arguing that they are not gambling and that people can choose to participate or not. This of course ignores the problems that can affect children – as children are not aware of these risks. And the concern isn’t just about gambling – they could be something entirely different. This is a complex problem that cannot be solved if ignored.

According to PCGamer