The Spanish government, through the Department of Consumer Affairs, has announced that it will present a bill to regulate video game loot boxes, which the Department compared to games of chance, in order to avoid addictions such as compulsive gambling and to preserve the health of players. If approved, it would be the first country in Europe with a specific law for this sector.
The announcement was made at the opening of the seminar “Loot Boxes: New challenges for the video game industry”, organised by the Department of Consumer Affairs to discuss these random reward mechanisms with experts and professionals from the sector.
The concept held by the minister of that department is that the boxes share the randomness or chance in the result, that it costs money to activate the mechanism and that the prize has an evaluable value. “The reality is that behind video games there is a sub-game very similar to traditional games of chance that carry a health risk,” Alberto Garzón, Minister of Consumer Affairs, said.
At the event, Garzón further indicated that having a specific law to regulate loot boxes, and even the market for cryptocurrencies and NFTs (non-fungible tokens), “will allow having fun and that this is compatible with the preservation and maximization of the health of all consumers and, in particular, of those who are most vulnerable.”
In an interview last week, the minister said that his office has drafted “a very specific law” that will be presented “in a few days” to regulate these contents, although he did not provide further details of the proposal.
