Federal trade commission to invesigate loot boxes

The debate over whether loot boxes in video games can be defined as betting continued in the United States this week with an undertaking by Federal Trade Commission chairman Joseph Simons to investigate the issue and present a report to Commissioners.

Senator Maggie Hassan appears to be driving the debate, claiming that the use of loot boxes is now endemic in the video games industry and is present in everything from casual smartphone games to the newest, high budget releases.

“Loot boxes will represent a $50 billion industry by the year 2022,” Hassan claimed. “It’s time for the FTC to investigate these mechanisms to ensure that children are being adequately protected.”

Hassan noted that the loot box issue resulted last year in the Belgian Gaming Commission calling for their removal; she additionally referenced an April 2018 report from UK-based Juniper Research, which recommended that regulators step in to stop teenage gamers from selling items scored in loot boxes or using them to gamble, and a survey of 2,865 11- to 16-year-olds from the UK Gambling Commission showing that 31 percent of participants had paid for a loot box or had used an in-game item to open a loot box (the Gambling Commission subsequently clarified that there was no direct correlation with gambling.)

See a video of discussions at the FTC hearing here: