In Brazil and in worldwide, Lootboxes, or reward boxes, are the new way for the entertainment market to monetize electronic games, whether they be from cell phones, computers or video games. These reward boxes are consumables that randomly provide benefits to the player, which can be purely aesthetic or even affect gameplay and guarantee advantages to the buyer.
Lootboxes work as follows: the player purchases the product in the store of the respective electronic game; when opening the box, he has the chance to win a random item within a set, and the item drawn can have a value much higher than the box, as well as it may have an added value below what had been paid at risk.
Many current games, of all genres, have these reward boxes and, in most cases, can be purchased with a click or two. Even the most successful electronic games today adopt this practice, whether they are aimed at children and adolescents or restricted to the adult audience.
For some, Lootboxes can be a cheap way to purchase virtual items or interesting rewards, which are usually much more expensive if purchased directly. However, because it involves the buyer's expectation of winning a valuable item within an event, in theory random, this activity can generate considerable losses to that player, if specific rules are not determined.
As outlined by Professor Anthony Cabot, from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, to classify an activity as a game of fortune, popularly called a game of chance, three essential elements must be noted: (i) a bet or payment to participate in the game (Consideration); (ii) a chance to win (Chance); and (iii) a prize to be achieved (Prize). This list excludes all games that need skill to win, and not just luck, like billiards and poker, for example.
Lootboxes can, as a rule, present the necessary elements for the classification of the activity as a game of fortune even inserted in free electronic games. When purchasing the reward box, the player pays a fee to have access and participate in the game, the first requirement being met; participating in the draw, even if the player has the guarantee that he will win some reward, it can be monetarily unfavorable, which can be considered a defeat, just as he can win a valuable item, the second requirement being met; finally, there is the prize that, if drawn, can contemplate something worthless, such as a defeat, as well as something esteemed and valuable, being very similar to the third requirement.
As it is an activity very similar to a game of fortune, the reward boxes provided in electronic games can contribute to a possible addiction of these players in the purchase of these products. One of the main problems linked to the practice of games without the proper regulation is ludopathy, or the Pathological Game), which consists of the abusive and irresponsible practice of the activity, popularly known as “addiction to gaming.”
Episodes similar to ludopathy have been found in other countries by the sale of Lootboxes, and it was suggested by researchers at York St John University that these boxes are related to the increase in Pathological Gambling among electronic game players. Belgium, for example, has taken the drastic step of banning the marketing of all types of Lootboxes in its territory, on the grounds that this activity violates the laws of gaming in that country, as it causes damage to the mental health of the population, especially children and teenagers.
In the United Kingdom, a partial ban on the marketing of these surprise boxes was adopted. Parliament has banned the sale of Lootboxes that contain the element of chance in games that are aimed at children and teenagers. The decision regarding the ban was made due to the application of the Precautionary Principle, given the lack of studies that prove the lack of connection between Lootboxes and pathological gambling in young people.
The ban on Lootboxes in the United Kingdom is adopted even in the absence of elements that classify them as games of chance in that country's legislation. The Gambling Act, of 2005, conditions the classification of activity in a game of fortune to the existence of monetary value real linked to the prize and, in the current interpretation, the Lootbox prizes would not contain this real value.
Before resorting to an eventual complete ban on Lootboxes in Brazil, there are other alternatives to mitigate the possible negative effects of their marketing and adapt the activity to the constitutional protection afforded to consumers. These alternatives include preventive, informative and awareness actions regarding possible damages arising from the practice abuse of that activity, requiring the dissemination of good practices and the promotion of actions that make the player aware of the possible risk of addiction to that practice.
Transparency in the probability of obtaining each of the prizes offered, at least for each category of prizes, is an important step forward for the protection and awareness of the player. From the moment that the he has access to the numbers corresponding to the chance of obtaining the items inserted in a certain set, that is, a certain and visible probability of obtaining a certain item, it is possible for that buyer to speculate an average amount that he will spend to achieve the desired item, such as considering whether that purchase is feasible within his personal budget.
It is necessary to establish rules for the companies that sell Lootboxes for the delimitation of all items that can be drawn in a specific box. One of the major problems associated with Lootboxes, in addition to the often uncertain and obscure probabilities, is the lack of transparency as to what can be purchased through that consumable, that is, which items are inserted in the set drawn by that purchase.
A product presented to the consumer with due transparency reduces any collateral damage that may be linked to the activity. Therefore, it is possible to define, in the middle of a determined set of items with clear percentages about their respective draw, whether the consumer really wants to participate in the draw and what the average amount and boxes must be spent to achieve the desired item.
In addition to the implementation of elements that give greater transparency to these products, preventive actions can be taken to make players aware of the possible risks of abusive activity.
In the midst of fears of an increase in the players' ludopathy rates, the allocation of alerts and clarification of risks arising from the uncontrolled acquisition of Lootboxes can become an alternative for the players' awareness of that item. When entering the purchase page of these consumables, the consumer is alerted to the potentially seductive nature of the activity, with a brief exposure of the possible risks, such as the need for moderation in the practice of the activity, so that it does not become a disorder.
In addition, it is prudent to provide parents of children and teenagers who play electronic games with the possibility, through a parental control tool, of restricting purchases or limiting them to a maximum number of daily purchases for their children. Such measures reduce the risk of excessive purchases made by children or teenagers, while allowing the restriction of spending on Lootboxes to the portion available for that purpose in the family budget.
Even though they are still little studied, Lootboxes deserve special attention. Having outlined the potential risks of the product, it is possible to adopt preventive measures to mitigate any damage to the consumer and, if found, the increase in pathological gambling among young people, such as increased transparency and awareness about the risks of the product. Thus, it may be possible to reconcile the guarantees to the player and the viability of the activity.
Filipe Senna
Lawyer from the University of Brasília, Post-graduate student in Administrative Law from IDP and specialist in Regulation of Games of Fortune
