Game over for ‘loot boxes’ that lure children into gambling
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A Scottish academic who has advised the UK government on gambling reform is backing a clampdown on video games that encourage youngsters to spend money on surprise rewards.
Loot boxes appear as chests, crates or card packs that players can buy to acquire items such as weapons, special abilities or “skins” that alter a character’s appearance.
Dr Heather Wardle, a social scientist at Glasgow University, believes that loot boxes should be age-restricted and not available to under-18s, after her research suggested that young children and teenagers feel “coerced and controlled” by game designers, who entice them to spend money.
UK ministers are considering reforms to the 2005 Gambling Act and Wardle is providing evidence to Westminster’s digital, culture, media and sport committee amid concern over
