News Gambling Commission says loot boxes aren't within its purview

The way they've worded it it sounds like a legal thing, that's not to say i disagree with it being a cop-out, just that it seems more like a thing parliament would need to pass a law on or something.

 

That's how I read it too. "We think this is gross too, but legally-speaking our hands are tied. As soon as they let you cash out we can do something, but until that happens it is a grossness we can't touch."

 

I think I recall reading that gambling in Japan works in a similar way: you can't gamble for money, but you can gamble for toys or tokens... which you can walk down the street to trade for money.

You'd think that in 650 MPs we'd have at least a few who were aware of and keen to address these loot boxes...

 

That's a shame, hopefully there will be a regulatory body set up or the law changed.

 

Given it seems like every other retail unit is a bookmakers and every other TV is for some form of gambling [online bingo usually], the UK hardly comes across as a place likely to perform a hard crackdown.

 

I look forward to the gambling commissions crackdown on Pokemon cards, and maybe kinder eggs while we're at it.

 

I remember a time in Germany when Horst Seehofer (the guy running the CDU with Angela Merkel, himself being in charge of the CSU) campaigned for years to get "killer games" like Counter-Strike banned for being too brutal, bloody and gory. He was always very open about the fact he'd never seen the game being played let alone played it himself. But he'd "spoken to people who have"... At that time my believe in our politicians took a mighty blow. How are they supposed to tackle the problems we're facing today and the ones we'll face tomorrow when they have yet to reach yesterday?