Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the video games industry's self-regulation on loot boxes; and what plans they have, if any, to ensure mobile games disclose that they contain loot boxes and make available parental controls to prevent children from acquiring loot boxes without permission.

We are committed to ensuring that purchases of loot boxes should not be available to children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and that all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.

The previous Government convened a Technical Working Group (TWG) of video game developers, which produced new industry-led guidance on consumer protections, published in July 2023. The TWG has prepared a report on industry implementation of the measures, which we urge all video games companies to adopt in full. In addition, we have commissioned independent academic research to assess the effectiveness of the new guidance and will consider whether further action is required when this research is complete.

The Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes and are independent of the government. The Department meets regularly with representatives of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on a range of matters. The ASA’s rulings on breaches of loot box advertising code requirements are available at: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html.