The executive of the PSOE and Podemos, headed by Alberto Garzón, intend to prevent cases of gambling in children. Limits for loot boxes.
Consumer Minister Alberto Garzón has proposed regulating those known in the video game industry as loot boxes or loot boxes; All those random content packages, normally paid, that approach their methodology to bets by the minimum rate of appearance of the most precious objects.
Against the contents of chance and the design of video games pay to win
The minister, after his first weeks in the executive of the PSOE and United We can led by Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government, is valuing to act fully to this problem, where countries such as Belgium and France have acted accordingly to the point of prohibiting their legality in any electronic leisure product. The objective is clear: prevent gambling among minors.
As eldiario.es advances, the Ministry of Consumption claims that this type of content package understands that the motivation of the companies responsible for the production of these titles is to design video games with the goal of loyalty to the user; especially in an industry where hundreds of video games are sold every month. Those of Garzón, according to information consulted by the source, believe that the loot boxes open the doors to the consumption of games of chance and approximate it, even, to the betting houses – where they have also recently intervened regulating the advertising at night hours – and Similar.
Loot boxes in video games: real money in exchange for random content.
According to the Spanish Association of Video Games (AEVI), the video game industry registered a turnover of more than 1530 million euros; almost triple that of cinema. The Government of Spain also points to the video games pay to win (those where the one who pays immediately obtains the most precious objects, with the addition of assuming an advantage over the rest of the players as they are not merely aesthetic), which add up to that Possible problem of gambling addiction.
However, from Consumption we are already working on a comprehensive plan to study and act accordingly to this problem. This "first step", with the Royal Decree through, may be the first real approach to create a regulatory framework for betting, of any kind, in our country.
In our country, despite the attempts since 2018, everything was in limbo. The change of executive (at that time Juan Espinosa García, CEO, General Director of the Gambling Regulation, took care of these issues) has brought back a mandatory element for the team led by the Secretary General of the United Left, Alberto Garzón.
Well-known sports video games have come to include a casino.
Belgium and other European countries, against random content
If we look around we see that this fight is not new. Back in 2017, FreeGameTips reported on Belgium's intention to declare loot boxes as bets and, therefore, their illegalization. The Gaming Commission of the European country, after the resolution of an extensive investigation, ended up declaring its presence illegal in any video game, including the best known in the sector such as FIFA, CS: GO, Star Wars: Battlefront and Overwatch.
Although there was a response in favor of the Belgian initiative by a total of 15 members of the euro zone, Spain included, most territories ended up declining to implement measures as drastic as those mentioned.
