Mikel Arana, director-general of Spain’s Directorate General for Regulating Gambling, said the regulatory agency has advised the Spanish government to change its gaming laws to reclassify video game loot boxes as games of chance and that the government will launch a public consultation before the end of the year, aiming for new gaming regulations to come into force by the second half of 2021.
The Spanish government has said it will review its online gaming laws with regards to protecting minors by “limiting compulsive and impulsive transactions.”
The DGOJ is reportedly seeking guarantees that loot box laws and gaming protections be included in the next phase of federal gambling reforms sanctioned by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Loot boxes are available to be purchases in many video games and contain digital items valued in the games, such as weapons or special powers. Since some game items are more valued by players than others – and players don’t know what items are in the boxes when they buy them – many critics charge that selling the boxes is a form of gambling.
Gaming industry officials say the boxes always contain useful gaming items and are not gambling.
The government will draft the final text of the law during the consultation period, which is scheduled to be published by mid-2021, focusing amendments on aligning responsible gambling standards and consumer safeguards across Spain’s 17 autonomous communities.
