In recent news, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (better known as the DCMS) has announced that it will launch “a call for evidence” regarding the impact of loot-boxes and gambling-like behavior later this year. No given date has been set, but the organization will work with the Gambling Act and the UK government to find a link between gambling and loot-boxes.
The DCMS published the above information on gov.uk. Additionally, the post makes mention of the coronavirus pandemic bringing “more people than ever before” to “video games and immersive technology to keep them entertained and to stay in touch with friends and family.” This act has caused the DCMS to take notice since the games industry in the UK has grown “more than 16 times faster than the wider UK economy since 2010.”
Here’s an excerpt of the organization’s call to examine loot-boxes in video games and if they have a link to gambling:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is today publishing the government’s response to the DCMS Select Committee’s report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies.
A call for evidence on loot boxes will examine links to gambling-like behaviour and excessive spending in games. The findings will provide a solid foundation for future steps and will be considered alongside a review of the Gambling Act.
In addition to the call for evidence, the government will contribute to further research in this area. DCMS will set a framework for a programme of research into the impact of video games on behaviour, informed by workshops with academia and industry.
Further details on the measures announced, including the call for evidence, will be released in due course.
As noted above, the government will help the DCMS to research issues surrounding loot-boxes. The two bodies will examine evidence such as “gambling-like behavior” and “excessive spending” and if they have a link to loot-boxes.
The Gambling Act will help out too, but it’s unclear when further research will be published for the public to look over.
Anyway, you can learn more about the initiative of the DCMS by heading on over to gov.uk. And lastly, what do you think will come out of this?
