M rating gamble won’t protect kids, advocates warn

Classifying games with loot boxes as M will do little to protect children from gambling harm, according to an Adelaide-based children’s advocacy group.

Giving an M classification to computer games with loot boxes – a chance-based “gambling activity” embedded in many titles – will do little to protect children from gambling harm, says an Adelaide-based children’s advocacy group.

Loot boxes are virtual containers that operate “like a lucky dip” and are common in popular video games that children and young people routinely play.

The federal government has announced it will seek agreement from states and territories to introduce a mandatory minimum classification of M for computer games containing paid loot boxes.

But the not-for-profit Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) says it’s not enough to safeguard kids.

The federal government has announced it will seek agreement from states and territories to introduce a mandatory minimum classification of M for computer games containing paid loot boxes.

“This classification will do little to protect children from the harm associated with loot boxes, and instead that games with loot boxes should be restricted to 18+,” a spokeswoman said.

“We consider purchasing loot boxes to be a gambling activity, because it involves spending real money on a chance-based reward of an uncertain value.

“(For kids) loot boxes are like a lucky dip because what’s inside them is not known in advance … when opened (after purchase or a win), they reveal virtual items of wildly differing rarity and perceived value.

“If the government is genuinely serious about reducing gambling-related harm to children, they should mandate truthful labelling on these games (and) restrict their use to adults.”

Recent research by the Australian Gambling Research Centre found onein 10 young people aged 18 to 19 displayed “some risk of gambling harm” linked to certain types of popular video games.

Researchers found young people who played simulated gambling games at the age of 16 and 17 were 40 per cent more likely to spend real money on gambling when they were 18 or 19.

“It is free casino-type games that look and sound like real gambling (that is problematic) … we are really hoping these findings will help inform the classifications of different video games (as well as) some of the in-game items and purchases,” lead researcher Rebecca Jenkinson said.