{"id":777000542,"date":"2022-11-29T14:27:41","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T17:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777000542"},"modified":"2026-04-23T02:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:31:02","slug":"australian-mp-calls-for-ban-on-loot-boxes-for-under-18s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/australian-mp-calls-for-ban-on-loot-boxes-for-under-18s","title":{"rendered":"Australian MP calls for ban on loot boxes for under 18s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Andrew Wilkie has introduced a bill proposing the regulation of the mechanic in video games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Australia.- Independent MP\u00a0<strong>Andrew Wilkie<\/strong>\u00a0has introduced a bill that would introduce mandatory classifications for video games with gambling-type features.\u00a0The <strong>Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Loot Boxes) Bill 2022<\/strong> seeks to restrict video game loot boxes to over-18s only. The bill has been seconded by LNP member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/australia-calls-for-controls-on-loot-boxes\" target=\"_blank\">A longtime reform advocate<\/a>, Wilkie, said: \u201cA 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.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the bill will ensure that children and young people &#8220;are protected from gambling-like features within video, computer and online games.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bill would require the Classification Board to <strong>classify any game with loot boxes as R18+ or RC<\/strong>. It would also require clear labelling so parents and guardians know when games contain the features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilkie has long been in favour of stricter measures against gambling. In 2021, he supported <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/tasmanian-gambling-bill-gains-support-of-both-major-parties\" target=\"_blank\">proposed amendments to the Tasmanian gambling bill<\/a>\u00a0and suggested implementing a maximum bet limit of AU$1. More recently, he proposed the creation of<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nsw-premier-warns-the-star-sydney-could-close-in-two-weeks\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0a national gaming regulator<\/a>\u00a0that would work with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrew Wilkie has introduced a bill proposing the regulation of the mechanic in video games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":15797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has introduced a bill in Australia to mandate R18+ or RC classification for video games featuring loot boxes, deeming them gambling-like mechanics. The proposed legislation aims to protect minors from these features and requires clear labeling for parental awareness. This initiative aligns with Wilkie's broader advocacy for stricter gambling regulation, including a national gaming regulator.","focusai_entities":"Andrew Wilkie, Andrew Wallace, LNP, Classification Board, AUSTRAC, Australian Federal Police (AFP)","focusai_location":"Australia, Tasmania","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.7), product_ux (0.9), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.8), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Bill's Parliamentary Timeline?","query":"What is the projected timeline for this bill's progression through the Australian Parliament, and what are the key political hurdles to its enactment?"},{"label":"Global Regulatory Precedent?","query":"How might the proposed R18+\/RC classification for loot boxes in Australia influence the global regulatory landscape for in-game monetization mechanics in other jurisdictions?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,156],"tags":[23911,23908],"class_list":["post-777000542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-regulation-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-gaming-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777000542"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777000568,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000542\/revisions\/777000568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777000542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777000542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777000542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}