There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding loot boxes over the past year which led to Belgium’s Gaming Commission deciding that loot boxes from some games violate their country’s gambling regulations.
According to Eurogamer, it now looks as though more countries may have to take a closer look at their own practices as 15 gambling regulators from across Europe—including one from the United States—have entered an agreement which will see them looking more closely at “unlicensed, third-party websites” that encourage “illegal gambling linked to popular video games.”
This news comes directly from the 2018 Gambling Regulators European Forum, where representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Spain, and one from Washington State have all signed the commission.
“Unlicensed websites offering skins betting can pop up at any time and children could be gambling with money intended for computer game products,” Neil McArthur, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission has said. “We encourage video games companies to work with their gambling regulators and take action now to address those concerns to make sure that consumers, and particularly children, are protected.”
Here is the full list of signatories:
- Austria: Alfred Hacker, Director, Federal Ministry of Finance
- Czech Republic: Karel Blaha, Director of the State Oversight Over Gambling Department
- France: Charles Coppolani, Chair of the French Online Gaming Regulatory Authority
- Gibraltar: Andrew Lyman, Executive Director, Gambling Division, HM Government of Gibraltar
- Ireland: Brendan Mac Namara, Principal Officer, Gambling Policy Division, Department of Justice and Equality of Ireland
- Isle of Man: Steve Brennan, Chief Executive, Gambling Supervision Commission
- Jersey: Jason Lane, Chief Executive, Jersey Gambling Commission
- Latvia: Signe Birne, Director of Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia
- Malta: Heathcliff Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer, Malta Gaming Authority
- The Netherlands: Jan Suyver, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Netherlands Gambling Authority
- Norway: Henrik Nordal, Director Deputy General, Norwegian Gaming Authority
- Poland: Paweł Gruza, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Finance
- Portugal: Teresa Monteiro, Vice-President of Turismo de Portugal, I.P
- Spain: Juan Espinosa García, CEO, Directorate General for Gambling Regulation
- Washington State: David Trujillo, Director, Washington State Gambling Commission
- UK: Neil McArthur, Chief Executive Officer, UK Gambling Commission
