Australia proposes labeling games with loot boxes M for 15 and over
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
Australia has proposed an 18-plus age rating for titles with digital gambling and a mature (15 and up) classification for titles with loot boxes.
As reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, the suggested changes to the National Classification Scheme would apply to any game that features gambling, prominent or otherwise.
Officials said these suggested amendments are to "protect those most vulnerable in our community from gambling harms and signal that such games are not appropriate for children."
Additionally, a newly released assessment of the original Classification Scheme said it needs updating as the games market has changed significantly from a time when physical media was most prominent.
The proposed changes will require agreements from states and territories to be finalized.
The news comes nearly a month after the Australian House of Representatives' Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee held public hearings on online gambling, including loot boxes in video games.
Our own Brendan Sinclair addressed the Australian game industry's defense of loot boxes during those hearings in a This Week in Business column earlier this month.
Read more on gamesindustry.biz
