New Bill May Ban Loot Boxes For Minors In Australia | Screen Rant
A member of the Australian government will introduce a bill next month to prevent video games from selling loot boxes to minors. Loot boxes have been seeing more attention in recent years, particularly since parents and lawmakers began noting how similar loot box mechanics can be to gambling. Not only does this risk teaching young children unhealthy and addictive habits, but disaster can also strike if children gain access to a parents’ debit or credit card without any understanding of what they’re doing.
The bill, reported on by Kotaku and to be introduced next month by Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie, will require video games to be labeled as 18+ if they contain loot boxes. Because the actual text of the legislation has not yet been made public, it is unknown whether this classification will also include games that contain loot boxes that cannot be purchased with actual money. For example, games such as Overwatch managed to circumvent this type of restriction by no longer selling loot boxes for real money in Belgium after the country banned them.
Because there does not currently exist a demarcation for games containing loot boxes, the proposed legislation would also add one. Of course, it may seem slightly humorous to see a game such as Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled labeled as 18+ solely for containing loot boxes, but Wilkie has stated that he believes parents should be made aware. The full text of the bill will be introduced in August.
Source: Kotaku