Letters | Hong Kong can regulate video game loot boxes by enforcing its laws

Your correspondents were right to highlight concerns associated with children’s engagement with gambling-like products, such as loot boxes in video games offering random rewards in exchange for money. Young people might overspend and experience harm.

The broader trend towards the normalisation of gambling may also lead to increased acceptance of and participation in traditional gambling, such as sports betting, causing future harm.

As an academic and lawyer, I have researched how gambling-like products are regulated across the world for seven years. Loot boxes are already subject to different regulations in several other jurisdictions. Hong Kong is unfortunately falling behind.

A complete ban is difficult to enforce. However, transparency requirements as adopted in Europe and South Korea, such as telling players and parents that a game contains in-game purchase offers and loot boxes in any advertising (including app store product listing pages), could help them be more aware of potential risks and avoid certain games as needed.