Last Friday, a package of measures to regulate video game loot boxes in Spain was released , which should help Spanish parents prevent their children from developing gambling addiction. In short, the package of measures, once approved and in effect, will require all games to verify the buyer's age with a national identity card. It will also include ways to limit spending and even self-exclude.
The interest of these measures is to protect minors from predatory techniques that make lootboxes addictive by nature. For this reason, many people consider them predatory. Shortly after the package of measures was announced, many people expressed their opinion about these measures in general on social networks. A survey was conducted of around 1.000 people who either regularly play video games or are parents of minors. They are the interested parties and those who could be most affected by these measures, either in their direct use or by controlling what their children play.
Spain's regulatory measures against lootboxes are well seen and considered insufficient according to Spanish players and parents
Let us remember that the bulk of the measures is to request identification through an official document. Be it the DNI, driving license or passport that verifies that you are the user and that you are of legal age before being able to carry out mechanics that give random digital objects, whether or not they have a monetary value. The moment there is something random and that can be obtained with real money or using virtual money that you can buy with virtual money, it will ask the user to verify that they are of legal age and can limit their spending.
The survey asked whether respondents believe the regulation protects minors and vulnerable individuals. The response was overwhelmingly positive , with 79% answering affirmatively, indicating strong support. However, the most divided opinion was on whether presenting one's ID or any official document could be considered an attack on privacy. This question generated a near-perfect split, with 51% of respondents believing it does constitute an attack on privacy.
74% of parents surveyed believe that if the law is passed, they will feel safer when their children play video games. They understand that there will be limitations preventing access to mechanics that could be considered slot machines. Clearly, there seems to be some awareness among today's parents of these mechanics , and a sense that they need to be regulated to provide legal protections.
