Call to ban ‘dangerous’ loot boxes in video games

LOOT boxes in video games must be abolished to stop a new public health crisis emerging among children, a police chief has warned.

Joy Allen, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Durham, said multibillion-pound companies are “preying” on children by encouraging them to gamble their money on randomised ingame purchases.

Ms Allen said many children may be “sleepwalking into danger” as loot boxes risk causing gambling addictions in later life.

Loot boxes are paid-for extras, requiring either virtual or real currency, that give players collections of weapons, clothes or characters that can improve performance or alter the game’s appearance.

Their contents are often hidden until purchase.

PCC Allen told The Sunday Telegraph that if they cannot be abolished outright then they should come with “health warnings” like those on cigarette packets.

She said: “Parents, grandparents and even the children themselves won’t be aware of the harm these loot boxes can do to some people.

“This can lead to addictions and gambling addictions [as] it is not about the money or the winnings, it’s the impact it has on the brain and the receptors.

“As has been argued in the House of Lords, loot boxes should be treated as gambling and be regulated.

“We know there are at least 55,000 young people already who have got a gambling addiction and what we know from research is that the gambling industry targets the highly addictive.

“Young people are being preyed on really and are sleepwalking into potential danger if they are not aware of it.”

It is estimated that the loot box industry is worth £700million alone.

PCC Allen urged parents not to give their children vouchers to purchase loot boxes as Christmas presents, especially when set against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis.