Spain will be the first country in Europe to regulate loot boxes

We start this Wednesday with a somewhat controversial news, and that is, Alberto GarzonMinister of Consumption, announced today a “specific law” intended to regulate the loot boxes in Spain or loot boxes in video games. Alberto Garzón announced this new regulation as a “pioneer in Europe” law, with the aim of regulating loot boxes.

Within this group there included also they NFT or cryptocurrencies. This future law was presented at the inauguration of the seminar “Loot Boxes, new challenges for the video game industry” held today at 10:00 am in Madrid.

The seminar on Loot Boxes in Spain where Garzón presented the law

Las loot boxes o loot boxeshave been present in a large number of video games for many years, being MappleStory the first video game that released this system back in 2004. Back then, said game was a popular MMORPG that sold tickets gachapón for 100 yen each and when you used them, you received a random prize.

Today, it works in a similar way, with the difference that our paid to receive said award are generally adorned with boxes, treasures or a chest of precious stones. This mechanic does not differ much from a game of chance typical of a casino, a slot machine or sports betting centers, only applied to a video game.

According to Garzón, the objective of this future law will be “to make the best law possible for the protection of all consumers and people who play video games”. In addition, “it will allow have fun and that is compatible with the preservation and maximization of the health of all consumers and, in particular, of the most vulnerable”.

Within the most vulnerable group of people we undoubtedly have the youthsboth boys and girls. And it is that, according to the National Plan on Drugs, a 30% of students (3 out of 10) have invested money in video games during 2021 to improve their characters and aesthetics in video games. Here come the “skins” which are one of the typical prizes of certain loot boxes.

Loot boxes favor gambling among young people

For this reason, it is considered a dangersince it is directly related to the pathological addiction to games of chance, called pathological gambling. Gambling is a disease characterized by the constant need to bet money to see a result, be it negative or positive. Likewise, the person with this psychological disorder cannot resist his desire to bet to see what the new game holds.

This can be turned into a vicious circle where the player who suffers it increasingly sees his life more degraded; psychologically and economically speaking, but, in turn, can’t stop betting money. And it is that, the loot boxes, are basically that, but decorated much more beautiful and in a more varied way. We have everything from card packs, supply boxes, crystals to unlock characters… With rewards ranging from common objects to extreme rarity.

The rarer and harder to get the reward, the higher the reward. earned dopamine for that lucky one who tried his luck and came out the winner. Now we just have to wait in the future if this regulation goes in the right direction or if we end up like Belgium and the Netherlands what they have been banned totally.

VIA: Government of Spain