If you’re planning to buy video game loot boxes in Australia, you might have to provide an ID soon. In a report prepared by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs the body recommends that the government investigate options for age-gating loot boxes and other elements of gaming that could be considered virtual gambling.
"The committee recommends that the Office of the eSafety Commissioner or other relevant government department report to the Australian government on options for restricting access to loot boxes and other simulated gambling elements in computer and video games to adults aged 18 years or over, including through the use of mandatory age verification," a portion of the report reads.
The majority of the report explores the logic and effects of age-gating internet pornography on a massive scale, which recalls the UK’s ill-fated attempt to pass a similar national barrier, which finally failed once and for all in October 2019. This isn’t the first time that paid loot boxes have proven controversial to lawmakers. In the past, countries like Belgium and the Netherlands have passed regulations preventing the practice, which forced game developers to remove them from their games.
Source: GameSpot
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