Federal election: Video games with ‘loot boxes’ to be reclassified in election pledge to protect kids

A new election pledge means video games in Australia will be getting an important overhaul. Here’s what could be changing.

Exclusive: Video games with “loot boxes” encouraging players to gamble for virtual gear will get a mandatory age classification under changes to be announced by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher on Wednesday.

The controversial gaming additions, seen in titles popular with young players including Roblox and Halo 5, have come under fire from gambling and parents groups in the past for raising millions of dollars from underage players.

Loot boxes have also been banned from games in several countries, including Japan and the Netherlands, and were the subject of News Corp’s Screen Time campaign for change in 2021.

The new changes to Australia’s classification rules would also extend to new content warnings about “suicide depiction and violence against women,” as well as child abuse material.

Mr Fletcher said the warnings were designed to give parents “clearer advice” about the content of a video game and, in the case of loot boxes, alert them to “the presence of in-game purchases“.

“This isn’t about banning or censoring content: it’s about ensuring families can make more informed choices,” he said.

The Government proposal would update to Australia’s National Classification Scheme, though state governments would have to approve the changes.

The proposal is similar to a private members’ bill introduced by independent MP Andrew Wilkie in August 2021 that sought to reclassify games with loot boxes that he called “barely disguised gambling”.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher will announce proposed changes to video game classifications this election campaign. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

Mr Wilkie had asked gambling games be given an R18+ rating so they could not be purchased by children, but said he supported “any efforts to crackdown on this predatory behaviour”.

“It’s widely acknowledged that the risk-versus-reward nature of loot boxes essentially sets young people up for future gambling addiction,” he said.

“The toxic relationship between a child and this feature functions in a similar way to a gambler and poker machines by continuing to entice the user back with desirable items. “Changes to Australia’s classification system to give video games with loot boxes a minimum age rating will go a long way to protect children from these gambling-like features, so long as the rating is strong enough.”

Loot boxes, sometimes called player packs, crates or lockboxes, are mystery collections of virtual items that can be purchased in games for real or virtual dollars.

Players bet that they will unlock valuable virtual items from within a loot box, like a rare outfit or skill, and some items can be traded or sold for real cash.

While some games have removed loot boxes, including Fortnite, many other use the microtransactions to generate revenue, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Apex Legends, Gears of War 4, NBA 2K20 and Street Fighter V.

Two Australian Senate inquiries in 2018 and 2020 recommended the gaming additions be investigated further but recommendations had been “noted” by the Government.

A review of loot box research by the Universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton also found 12 out of 13 studies proved links between loot boxes and problem gambling, and the United Kingdom is currently reviewing recommendations to reclassify loot boxes as a gambling tool.

Originally published as Federal election: Video games with ‘loot boxes’ to be reclassified in election pledge to protect kids