House of Lords calls for Government to class loot boxes as a form of gambling

The House of Lords Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry has called for loot boxes to be classed as gambling.

One of its key recommendations to Government is as follows: “The Government must act immediately to bring loot boxes within the remit of gambling legislation and regulation.”

As well as identifying in-game loot boxes as an issue, the Select Committee also spoke in greater detail about gambling in general and how more can be done to prevent gambling-related harm.

“The liberalisation of gambling by the Gambling Act 2005, the universal adoption of smart phones, and the exploitation of soft-touch regulation by gambling operators has created a perfect storm of addictive 24/7 gambling,” it said in this post on the UK Parliament website.

Other key recommendations include the Gambling Commission to create a system for testing all new gambling games against a series of harm indicators, the creation of a statutory independent Gambling Ombudsman Service to settle disputes between gambling operators and gamblers, banning gambling operators from advertising their services on the shirts of sports teams and more.

The Chair of the Committee, Lord Grade of Yarmouth said: “Most people who gamble enjoy it safely. However, gambling related-harm has made the lives of two million people miserable. It leads to hundreds of people each year taking their own lives, leaving families and friends devastated.

“Urgent action by the Government is required. Lax regulation of the gambling industry must be replaced by a more robust and focussed regime which prioritises the welfare of gamblers ahead of industry profits.”

The Committee expects the Government and the regulator to make changes now, as ‘many of the report’s recommendations do not need legislation, and all of them are urgent if consumers are to be protected and lives saved’.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.