The UK Gambling Commission doesn’t consider loot boxes as gambling

The UK Gambling Commission does not consider loot boxes as gambling, it has recently advised.

Unlike similar investigations in Belgium and Hawaii, the UK Gambling Commission has recently released a statement, though it’s come out on the side of publishers like Overwatch‘s Activision Blizzard, Star Wars: Battlefront 2‘s EA or Micro Machines: World Tour’s Bandai Namco (shown above).

According to the statement — available in full here — the Commission doesn’t believe loot boxes equates to gambling as loot boxes don’t pay out a direct currency. Because of this fact, loot boxes don’t meet the classification of gambling as laid out by Parliamentary law.

“A key factor in deciding if that line has been crossed is whether in-game items acquired ‘via a game of chance’ can be considered money or money’s worth,” the Commission advised.

“In practical terms this means that where in-game items obtained via loot boxes are confined for use within the game and cannot be cashed out it is unlikely to be caught as a licensable gambling activity. In those cases our legal powers would not allow us to step in.”

It doesn’t end there, however — the Commission singled out an opportunity for reform, despite loot boxes not technically being classified as gambling.

“Where a product does not meet that test to be classed as gambling but could potentially cause harm to children, parents will undoubtedly expect proper protections to be put in place by those that create, sell and regulate those products,” the statement furthers.

“We have a long track record in keeping children safe and we are keen to share our experiences and expertise with others that have a similar responsibility. Whether gambling or not, we all have a responsibility to keep children and young people safe.”

What’s your take on all this?

Reference: https://www.safebettingsites.com/us/michigan/