Unsurprisingly, the ESA continues to insist that loot boxes aren’t a form of gambling. Of course, it’s worth noting that the ESA is comprised of almost all the major video game publishers, which are the companies currently profiting from loot boxes in video games. With that potential conflict of interest in mind, here is what the ESA has to say about the loot box controversy:
Some may agree with the ESA’s assessment, but others may take issue with it. Clearly there are some authorities that disagree with the ESA’s assertion that loot boxes aren’t gambling, such as the government of Belgium as well as representatives from the state of Hawaii. If these anti-loot box entities introduce legislation that bans the sale of video games with loot boxes to minors, then the ESA’s stance may ultimately not matter.
It’s clear that the loot box controversy is far from over. There seems to be a new development every day, if not multiple times a day, as more agencies speak out in favor of or against loot boxes in video games. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if legislation is introduced that regulates the use of loot boxes in video games or if gamers are overreacting, as one Wall Street analyst has claimed.
Source: Rolling Stone
