‘Predatory’ video game loot boxes catch US lawmaker’s ire

A Washington State lawmaker has opened an inquiry into the loot box model of microtransactions in console games to determine whether it should be considered as gambling.

The News Tribune reported that State Senator Kevin Ranker filed a bill to clarify whether loot boxes and other purchases in video games are gambling masked in a game.

“What the bill says is, ‘Industry, state: sit down to figure out the best way to regulate this,’” Ranker said, according to the news outlet. “It is unacceptable to be targeting our children with predatory gambling masked in a game with dancing bunnies or something.”

Ranker’s proposed bill, however, might go beyond regulating loot boxes due to the measure’s vague language. The general idea of Ranker’s bill was if a game looks like gambling then it should be regulated as gambling.