Video games are a common toy especially for kids nowadays. But what if a video game that your child plays is already bordering on gambling?
Are loot boxes a form of gambling? It does look and sound like a casino game but it is packaged as a video game for children. This video game requires real money for a chance to win items found in its game. Now could this be considered gambling?
Senator Kevin Ranker introduced a bill this month asking Washington officials and game developers to determine whether or not the loot boxes and other games with the same type of mechanics can be considered as a form of gambling. If it really is a form of gambling, this could only mean that it preys on children.
According to Ranker, “what the bill says is, ‘industry, state: sit down to figure out the best way to regulate this’”. He also mentioned that it is unacceptable to target children especially when predatory gambling is masked as a game.
Cross-Pollination Between Gambling and Gaming?
This bill has been designed in order to stop “cross-pollination” of the gaming and gambling industries. Belgium is also launching a similar investigation in order to determine forms of gambling that are disguised in other forms.
A state lawmaker in Hawaii also proposed a ban on the sale of games with loot boxes to people below the age of 21. Chris Lee even mentioned that Star Wars Battlefront II, which is a video game that used loot boxes, is “a trap”.
Chris Lee also said that “this game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money”. Electronic Arts, the game developer behind Star Wars Battlefront II, didn’t give their response despite a request for a comment on the issue.
The Washington Gambling Commission has been aware of loot boxes but they never formed any position on this matter whether it is a form of gambling or not.
Individuals in the front line of addiction treatment in Washington mentioned that loot boxes have blurred the line between gaming and gambling, especially to children.
Children Developing Gambling Addiction
Jim Leingang, an addiction counselor for the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, mentioned that “every hand in the room went up when asked an audience in a recent youth prevention summit if they are aware of loot boxes. He also mentioned that “You don’t realize your kids in trouble until you get a credit card statement”.
There are others who are saying that the mechanics of these types of games actually plant seeds for children to develop gambling habits.
Gambling can get some individuals hooked. The sad thing about these games is that there is a chance that children are developing an addiction to gambling without realizing it. Hilarie Cash, the founding member of a rehab facility for internet and gaming addiction, mentioned that “we know that gambling is a very strong hook for some people and so is gaming”. She added that combining both gaming and gambling can increase the chances of developing an addiction.
There are organizations related to the gaming industry, however, that denied loot boxes as a form of gambling.
