Senator Josh Hawley today announced a bill that would ban loot boxes and pay-to-win microtransactions in games played by minors.
Senator Josh Hawley, Republican Senator for Missouri, today announced a Bill that he hopes will ban loot boxes and pay-to-win microtransactions in games that are played by minors. The Senator has stated that the bill would cover both games designed for minors, and games whose developers knowingly allow minors to engage in microtransactions.
Exactly how the games industry approaches microtransactions has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, with several countries looking at the legality of loot boxes, and how they may fall under those market’s gambling laws. The bill, called “The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act” will be introduced to the U.S. Senate soon.
Senator Hawley has specifically called out Activision’s Candy Crush as a prime example of pay-to-win microtransactions aimed at minors, citing the game’s $150 “Luscious Bundle” which includes boosters that decrease game difficulty, and 24 hours of unlimited lives.
“Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits. No matter this business model’s advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: there is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices.”, stated Senator Hawley in a press release issued today, “When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction. And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences.”
In recent months, some European countries have ruled that loot boxes count as gambling, and have made the practice illegal for any game that wishes to be sold within their markets. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, you can no longer include loot boxes in games, with Belgium specifically citing concerns about the practice being aimed at minors.
If new legislation comes in that makes loot boxes illegal in a market the size of America, it would have major repercussions for publishers who have benefited immensely from the padded financial reports that loot boxes have led to. As such, you can expect any fight that happens around this to be pretty bitter, with billions of dollars on the line.
