The lootboxes, continue to be one of the most controversial issues in the video game industry. Whether it's titles such as Star Wars: Battlefront II that have withdrawn them due to popular pressure or countries like Belgium forcing companies like EA, 2K Games and Blizzard to withdraw them from their games, actions against this controversial business practice do not stop.
Now it is a group of regulators of gambling who have published a letter presenting their concerns about the way in which the lines between games of chance and other forms of digital entertainment such as video games are being blurred.
Specifically refer to issues such as bets for cosmetic items, loot boxes, casino applications and other similar content present in products available to children.
This declaration is signed by representatives of Austria, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Ireland, Gibraltar, Jersey, Malta, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Latvia and, surprisingly, the state of Washington. This is a region of the United States that in the past has already faced companies like Valve on similar issues. All of them have joined together with the objective of "analyzing in depth the characteristics of videogames and giving rise to an informed dialogue between videogame developers and gambling regulators".
In the letter, said authorities express their interest in implementing legal frameworks for the presence of elements that can be considered as bets in all kinds of electronic works. Since some companies have not reacted well to governments telling them they must remove certain monetization systems from their games (with 2K games asking their fans to demand that the government of Belgium allow them to buy loot boxes), it is to be expected that also receive this communication with suspicion.
Hopefully, all this controversy will lead to some abusive practices of monetization disappear from video games.
Here you could find attached the International gaming and gambling declaration
