A shiver crept through EA’s spine.
You might recall the hooplah with loot boxes that was happening a few years ago. A not-inconsiderable number of countries ruled that they were essentially gambling. Well, the political machine moves slowly, but Australia has just passed new rules for loot boxes and gambling-related content.
Starting September 2024, games featuring “simulated gambling, such as social casino games” as well as “games containing in-games purchases linked to elements of chance, including paid loot boxes” will be given a rating of R18+. This means that such games can’t be legally sold to anyone under the age of 18, and is actually one step above their M rating, which only restricts sale to people over the age of 15.
Pre-pandemic figures indicated that Australia had some of the greatest per capita gambling losses in the world, so it’s not exactly surprising that the country would try to take steps to curtail that. A minimum age for such content was one of the recommendations a review taken by the country suggested back in 2020.
These changes were agreed upon in Australia’s recent Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting; a meeting which includes Attorneys-General from the Australian Government plus all states and territories. In Australia, changes to the National Classification Code and classification guidelines require unanimous agreement from all jurisdictions.
The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association of Australia is let down by this decision. But they have stated that they “will continue to work with the relevant government departments to ensure that they appreciate the nuances involved and that there is a clear agreement on where and how these changes will be applied.”
This is merely the latest chapter in the loot box controversy. To recollection, Belgium and The Netherlands ruled that they were gambling, and therefore subject to their gambling laws. The UK government didn’t forbid their use after two years of investigation, but did request that the industry self-regulate. The US floated the idea of laws to deal with them, but the industry mostly backed away from their use (though certainly not entirely).
Source: IGN
About Author
