According to Paulo Horn, rapporteur of the Regulatory Affairs Committee, the new agency would have authority to regulate, oversee, and supervise not only the Commission itself, but also provide agile regulatory responses, normative harmonization, and better coordination between consumer protection bodies, data authorities, and other state entities. “Such a measure would bring greater stability and legal certainty, as well as align Brazil with international best practices,” said the rapporteur.
Bill 4,148/2019 was introduced by Federal Deputy Heitor Freire during debates promoted by the Chamber of Deputies’ Science and Technology Committee in 2018 on the economic impact of electronic games. The bill seeks to regulate the offering of loot boxes and sets parameters for the commercialization of these reward boxes, available in digital environments and whose content is randomly assigned, usually upon payment.
In electronic games, a reward box is provided by developers through platform features, allowing users to acquire, by chance and upon payment in currency or virtual money, items or bonuses. The bill’s main objective is to ensure greater transparency in how these boxes operate, requiring disclosure of the probabilities of obtaining each item offered.
The measure responds to the growth of the digital gaming industry and the evolution of monetization models, which have moved beyond the sale of full games to practices based on microtransactions and random rewards. In this context, the bill seeks to preserve consumer rights without hindering industry development.
According to the Regulatory Affairs Committee’s opinion, Bill 4,148/2019 represents an important step by establishing an objective obligation of transparency in loot boxes. “However, its full effectiveness requires the creation of an autonomous, technical, and specialized regulatory authority, capable of addressing the sector’s challenges with agility, legal certainty, and focus on consumer protection,” the text states.
The opinion of the Consumer Law Committee, authored by Guilherme Magalhães Martins and presented by its president, Vitor Greijal Sardas, considered Bill 4,148/2019 “a mature, necessary, and technically appropriate legislative response to one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary Consumer Law.” The text stresses that “it addresses the phenomenon of loot boxes with the seriousness it demands, recognizing its complexity and potential harm.”
Vitor Sardas noted that the bill has two key articles: one that defines the product and another that obliges providers to inform consumers of the probability of winning. “But the bill does not prohibit the sale of these products to children and adolescents,” he said. The Consumer Law Committee suggested differentiating between loot boxes with aesthetic purposes and those providing in-game benefits.
The opinion of the Digital Law Committee, presented by Juliana Ferreira de Souza Villaça, recognized that Bill 4,148/2019 seeks to bring transparency to this emerging market, reinforcing the right to information and the psychological safety of users. “Despite criticism from free-market advocates, the bill follows the line of international initiatives that aim to balance innovation in gaming with the protection of vulnerable groups,” the text reads.
Juliana Villaça emphasized that in the case of loot boxes, “the desired item is not purchased; what is purchased is the chance. The bill does not prohibit this; it seeks transparency and consumer protection through disclosure of probabilities, with sanctions in case of omission.” As a contribution to improving the bill, the Digital Law Committee suggested measures such as “restrictions for minors with parental controls and verifiable authorization, stronger authentication requirements, and clear warnings regarding the presence of loot boxes and their probabilities,” among others.
Source: GMB
