Washington Senators Call For Investigation of Video Game Loot Boxes

By Jessica Ferrera, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Several members of the United States Senate recently filed a bill focused on the effects and hazards of video game loot boxes especially on the younger demographic of gamers.

Senate Bill 6266, which was co-authored by Washington state Senators Kevin Ranker, Reuven Carlyle and Karen Keiser, was filed last Jan. 11 with the Committee on Labor & Commerce.

Generally, loot boxes refer to virtual items that players can receive as a reward after completing missions or objectives in a video game. Over the years, developers have devised several mechanisms on how players can acquire or purchase these digital crates.

In SB 6266, the senators said the video game loot boxes "raised a number of serious problems and concerns." The lawmakers want these video game mechanisms evaluated to determine whether their operation can be "considered gambling under Washington law."

As pointed out previously, the Washington state senators want to investigate video game loot boxes and determine if they are exposing minors to "gambling addiction." They also want to dig deeper into "the lack of disclosure and transparency with respect to the odds of receiving each type of virtual item."

The heat that video game loot boxes receive heightened in 2017 when thousands of gamers around the world criticized Electronic Arts for the way it handled the loot boxes and microtransaction system on "Star Wars Battlefront II."

In various countries apart from the United States, the game was placed under evaluation because government agencies felt it might be exposing young people to gambling without proper regulation. Rep. Chris Lee of Hawaii even called the game's loot box and microtransaction mechanisms "predatory."

Meanwhile, SB 6266 also proposed: "The Washington state gambling commission must conduct a study of the use of loot boxes and similar types of mechanisms in online games or apps."

A public hearing led by Washington State's Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce was held on Jan. 31 to deliberate the provisions of SB 6266.