Ukie’s guidelines for loot boxes in esports have been developed by the Technical Working Group, established in July 2022 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). These guidelines are in response to concerns about young people participating in underage gambling through loot boxes in video games. The government initiated a call to evidence in September 2020 to address this issue, leading to the formation of the working group.
The main recommendation of Ukie’s guidelines is to make loot boxes completely inaccessible to young people, unless authorized by a parent or guardian. This UK-first initiative aims to improve player protection and ensure safe and responsible play. The government welcomes these guidelines and hopes they will strengthen player protection measures, especially for young players.
The 11 guidelines presented by Ukie include implementing technological controls to prevent under 18s from accessing loot boxes without parental consent. It is also important to raise awareness about these controls. DCMS commends this recommendation and urges the industry to enforce stricter rules on parental controls, including default £0 spending limits on child accounts for all in-game purchases.
In addition, Ukie’s guidelines emphasize the importance of disclosing the presence of loot boxes in games before purchase or download, providing players with full information. They also propose the creation of an expert panel on age assurance and lenient refund policies for loot box purchases made without parental knowledge.
Loot boxes have faced criticism in the gaming industry for some time. In Spain, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has published a draft bill to regulate loot boxes, making it the first EU country to address this issue specifically. The UK Children’s Commissioner has also labeled loot boxes as “inappropriate” for young people. Similarly, the German video game age-rating body is considering incorporating loot boxes into their rating system from January 2023.
