Loot boxes should face gambling regulation

Playing a game of football isn’t gambling. However, playing a game of football where the winning team gets hard cash and the losing team pays out is gambling. Equally, playing a standard game of poker is gambling, but playing a game of poker for no money — yes, some people do that — is not gambling.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that over 60 percent of British people said they believed loot boxes should be regulated as gambling. Loot boxes often involve taking a risk and paying money in the hope that you might win some rare in-game treat like a new character or weapon. Sometimes you win big, and sometimes you wind up with something no one really wants, like a new badge for your profile or a new color of hat for your character.