Australia proposes 18+ age rating for video games with loot boxes
A new bill seeks to impose an R18+ rating on all video games that include the mechanism.
Australia.- The government of Australia has proposed restricting access to video games with gambling-like features. The proposal calls for mandatory R18+ ratings for games that include loot boxes. According to ABC, such games would receive an “M” for mature rating in a bid to prevent children from accessing them.
A similar bill was presented by independent MP Andrew Wilkie in November of last year. At the time, Wilkie, said: “A loot box is a video game feature where players pay to chance their luck at winning additional virtual assets to use during the game. This is gambling by any definition and is routinely being experienced by children and adolescents right around Australia. No wonder gambling companies are buying up online gaming companies.”
Loot boxes allow players to purchase a box containing a random in-game prize. They are used in many video games played by children.
Australian banks call for ban on credit card use for online sports gambling
Earlier this week, the Australian Banking Association (ABA)’s CEO, Anna Bligh, called for a ban on credit card use in online sports gambling, stating that the industry lacks basic regulation. While states and territories have banned credit card use for gambling in physical venues, online gambling has not been subjected to the same regulation.
Bligh said that banks were not calling for a moral crusade against online gambling but were instead determined to protect their business interests. She said that credit cards are not suitable for the industry since they could allow someone to accumulate a substantial amount of debt in a short period. She noted that credit cards have been banned for use at pub pokie machines and at bookies for over 20 years.
A parliamentary inquiry is set to provide the federal government with recommendations on online gambling and its effects on people facing gambling-related harm. The inquiry is expected to have its next public hearing hosted this week.
