Before the bill can be approved, it faces a long process, heading through a series of committees and facing scrutiny by the House or Representatives and Senate, before being signed off by the president.<doc-sep>US Senator Josh Hawley announced today that he plans to introduce legislation that will ban "pay-to-win and loot box monetization practices" in videogames that are marketed to minors. “Social media and videogames prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits," Hawley said in a statement. "No matter this business model’s advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: There is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices." "When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction. And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences." Hawley's bill, The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, would outlaw randomized or partially-randomized microtransactions—loot boxes—as well as pay-to-win systems that "artificially" manipulate difficulty to encourage spending or enable the purchase of competitive advantages in multiplayer games. The FTC would be responsible for enforcing the new rules, although attorneys general at the state level would also be given the authority to take action against game makers. Hawley cited the mega-popular Candy Crush as a "notorious example of this practice," noting that while the game itself is free, players are able to purchase a "Luscious Bundle" for $150 that offers in-game currency, 24 hours of unlimited lives, and temporary boosters. "The game touts this offering with a medal labeled 'Best Value'," Hawley said. "Candy Crush Developer King earns parent company Activision Blizzard $2 billion annually, boasting 268 million monthly active users." Interestingly, the law—if enacted—will not use ESRB ratings to determine applicability. The industry should appreciate that, as doing so would put everything rated lower than Adults Only (so, virtually everything) in its crosshairs, but it also means that the process of determining which games are "played by minors" is vague and wide open to interpretation. The introduction to the bill says the distinction would be based on "subject matter, visual content, and other indicators similar to those used to determine applicability of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act." Popular games "whose developers knowingly allow minor players to engage in microtransactions" would also be subject to regulation. Update: In response to the senator's announcement, the Entertainment Software Association's acting president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis issued the following statement: "Numerous countries, including Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, determined that loot boxes do not constitute gambling. We look forward to sharing with the senator the tools and information the industry already provides that keeps the control of in-game spending in parents’ hands. Parents already have the ability to limit or prohibit in-game purchases with easy to use parental controls."<doc-sep>A federal lawmaker wants to introduce legislation that would ban "pay to win" practices and "loot boxes" from all video games. In a statement released Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican representing Missouri, said video games offering these systems are preying on user addiction, particularly among children. "When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction," said Hawley in a statement. "And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions." Hawley cited the mobile game "Candy Crush Saga," a free-to-play puzzle game where users can make small purchases called microtransactions to earn additional in-game items. The model is commonly used among most of the top mobile games available. The senator also called out the use of "loot boxes," a collection of random rewards players earn in free and paid games. Hawley said the boxes combine "the addictive properties of pay-to-win with the compulsive behavior inherent in other forms of gambling." In a statement obtained by USA TODAY, the Entertainment Software Association said several countries including Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom have all determined "loot boxes" don't qualify as gambling. "We look forward to sharing with the senator the tools and information the industry already provides that keeps the control of in-game spending in parents’ hands," said Stanley Pierre-Louis, acting president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, in a statement. "Parents already have the ability to limit or prohibit in-game purchases with easy to use parental controls." Last year, the Belgium Gaming Commission declared loot boxes illegal under the nation's gambling laws, reported the BBC, requiring game developers to remove any boxes players could acquire using real money. Although the practice of microtransactions is common among free-to-play mobile games, the system has crept into paid console games, which has sometimes led to backlash. Two years ago, publisher Electronic Arts introduced several changes to "Star Wars Battlefront II" after users complained over how players are incentivized to earn in-game content. Many players were concerned it would encourage a "pay to play" dynamic where players who spent money held a greater advantage. Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.<doc-sep>
EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II became a focal point for the loot box controversy when it was released in 2017. Screenshot : EA Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) today announced a bill that would ban loot boxes and pay-to-win microtransactions in “games played by minors,” a broad label that the senator says will include both games designed for kids under 18 and games “whose developers knowingly allow minor players to engage in microtransactions.” Hawley will introduce the bill, “The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act,” to the U.S. Senate soon. In press materials announcing the bill, Hawley’s team brought up the Activision game Candy Crush as an egregious example of pay-to-win microtransactions thanks to its $150 “Luscious Bundle” that comes with a whole bunch of goodies. This bill will also likely apply to a host of online games that feature loot boxes and other ways in which players can spend money for real benefits. “When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction,” Hawley said in a press release. “And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences.” Last fall, the Federal Trade Commission promised to investigate loot boxes following a letter from Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) that she wrote in the wake of 2017's string of games featuring the heavy usage of predatory microtransactions, such as Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront II. Although some companies have pulled back on the practice, popular games like Overwatch, FIFA, and Apex Legends continue to make big money off randomized microtransactions. Many of those games are played by both adults and children. Hawley, 39, has become known in Washington for criticizing major tech companies Facebook and Google, often accusing them of anti-conservative bias. UPDATE (12:18pm): T he Entertainment Software Association, the video game industry lobbyist group, sent over a statement shortly after this bill was introduced: “Numerous countries, including Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, determined that loot boxes do not constitute gambling. We look forward to sharing with the senator the tools and information the industry already provides that keeps the control of in-game spending in parents’ hands. Parents already have the ability to limit or prohibit in-game purchases with easy to use parental controls.”