Hawaiian state Reps. Chris Lee and Sean Quinlan have come out against the sale of loot boxes in games such as EA Sports Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Loot boxes, or loot crates, contain unidentified virtual items used in the game and can be bought for real money. Since some items are valued more highly than others—and in some games items are traded and gambled for real money—critics say they introduce children to gambling.
“This game is basically a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into an addictive cycle of gambling money for a chance to win game upgrades. These exploitive mechanisms have no place in games being marketed to minors, and perhaps no place in games at all,” Lee said in a press statement.
“Nothing currently prevents EA from exploiting people buying loot crates with random contents through microtransactions because there is no requirement to disclose the odds of winning something meaningful, and companies like these are allowed to specifically target youth without the cognitive maturity to know when they are being exploited.”
“We have already asked the Attorney General to look into this situation. We are also looking at legislation to protect families by prohibiting the sale of games with these gambling mechanisms to those who are underage, or prohibiting these gambling mechanisms altogether,” he said.
The politicians said they are also working with legislators in other states on regulations.
EA Sports has denied the sale of loot boxes are gambling arguing that all of the loot boxes contain items of some value in the game. However, the company did suspend in-game purchases in “Star Wars Battlefront 2” after controversy over the boxes prompted regulatory review in several jurisdictions.
