Spain will be the first European country with a specific law to regulate ‘loot boxes’. Today the first draft has been released and we already have some of the measures that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs intends to carry out. Among them, the prohibition of loot boxes to minors. A prohibition that will require an extraordinary measure: forcing everyone to give their ID in the platforms that have ‘loot boxes’.
What does the government understand by ‘loot boxes’. The future law stresses that video games are not on the same level as games of chance. In this first text, loot boxes are defined as Random Reward Mechanisms (RAM). This will be the case “when the activation of the reward mechanisms cost money or other virtual objects acquired with money directly or indirectly”. The inclusion of “virtual objects” suggests that rewards based on cryptocurrencies or NFTs will also be considered as ‘loot boxes’, even if they are not rewarded with money per se.
Examples of ‘loot boxes’ or MAR are for example those video games where inside are hidden loot boxes with prizes or the websites or exchange applications that directly are a kind of casino. In all these cases, the new law will force to perform a series of actions.
‘Loot boxes’ to minors are prohibited. As advanced by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, in an interview with Xataka at the end of 2020, the new law will prohibit access to ‘loot boxes’ to minors under 18 years of age. “Many of these reward boxes are given in video games that may even have a legal PEGI accreditation below 18 years,” explained the minister.
For those over 18, obligations will also be added. In addition to the ban on minors, the law will force applications with ‘loot boxes’ to add a series of settings. Users will have the possibility to limit spending completely with a system of self-exclusion or partially limit it by being able to establish game sessions with a maximum time and amount.
How will age be verified? By means of the ID card. To carry out these changes, a new control method will be needed. From Consumo they explain that this prohibition will be carried out through a documentary verification, by means of the DNI or biometric. That is to say, video games containing ‘loot boxes’ will be obliged to request the ID card at the time of payment, to check whether the account belongs to a minor or not.
Goodbye to anonymity?. The new law is currently a draft that is starting its public hearing process, but it raises many doubts about privacy and how it will be applied. Requiring the ID to be able to buy is a big change, since currently it is not necessary to provide this document when playing titles that contain ‘loot boxes’.
Platforms such as Google Play have been requesting information for a couple of years to verify that you are of the minimum age. Google explains that “if we detect that you might not be old enough to manage your own account, you will have 14 days to set up monitoring on your account”. For this process, Google asks for your ID or a credit card.
With the entry into force of this new law, it is expected that platforms such as Google will strengthen age monitoring, to ensure that applications and video games through its platform comply with the law. We will have to see if the rest of applications or platforms perform similar actions.
What about gift cards?. Another doubt that arises is with the gift cards of 20 or 50 euros to use on platforms such as PlayStation. By requiring the DNI, it opens the door for stores to have the obligation to request it when buying them, as if it were a consumer good only available to adults.
Regulation of advertising. The new law will also prohibit physical advertising related to loot boxes, as well as online advertising in web environments not related to video games. As for television and radio, advertising of these rewards will be prohibited except in the 1 to 5 a.m. time slot.
Information on prize possibilities. The platforms will also have an additional obligation with respect to these prizes and that is that truthful information must be given about the real chances of obtaining the prize. If an envelope or chest has only a tiny chance of giving an interesting gift, this must be reflected.
