Sweden moves to classify loot boxes as gambling

Video game loot boxes may be restricted in Sweden as early as January 2019 if a legislation seeking to classify it as gambling becomes a law.

Swedish radio station P3 News reported that Sweden is the latest country to suggest that RNG loot drops requiring real-money purchases must be regulated to protect children from gambling, which they claimed are guised as video games.

Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi wants loot boxes to be classified as a form of gambling in order for the government to impose a much stringent policy under the Swedish law.

The current Swedish law doesn’t define loot boxes as gambling, which makes it difficult for the government to regulate the product. Shekarabi noted that many gamers get stuck in “an abusive and addictive cycle” of purchasing loot boxes.