16 October, 2017
Laws do already exist in South East Asian countries regarding the boxes, although the United Kingdom has supported the belief that the loot holds no "real" value and therefore can not constitute gambling.
On top of these requests from Zeichner, a petition requesting that gaming laws should be adapted in order to include loot boxes has reached over 10,000 signatures.
A British politician has asked the United Kingdom government to regulate loot boxes in video games, requesting that the Secretary of State bring in plans that will "help protect vulnerable adults and children from illegal gambling, in-game gambling and loot boxes within computer games". In order for the subject to be considered for debate in parliament, the petition needs 100,000 signatures from United Kingdom residents. "While not now considers gambling by law they do copy many traits to make them as addictive and can lead to real money being lost/earned".
In addition, Zeichner's two questions explore the same subject.
Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge, has asked the UK Government questions about the links between loot boxes and gambling.
"To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to help protect vulnerable adults and children from illegal gambling, in-game gambling and loot boxes within computer games". The ESRB told Kotaku, a video game website, that: "We think of it as a similar principle to collectible card games: Sometimes you'll open a pack and get a brand new holographic card you've had your eye on for a while".
Both questions were submitted in early October after the MP met with Reddit user Artfunkel to discuss whether existing gambling laws apply to loot boxes.
Video game loot boxes have recently been a contentious issue in video games, with everyone offering an opinion.
