Australia has become the latest country to take steps to address the pervasiveness of loot boxes with proposed changes to the country’s National Classification Scheme.

Under the terms of the proposal, any games which were judged to involve simulated gambling would receive an R18+ rating, while those which feature loot boxes would receive an M rating (15+). These new ratings would supersede any previous ones, potentially resulting in franchises which previously received a lower classification seeing tighter restrictions.

In an official release, the Australian government said that it intends to, “protect those most vulnerable in our community from gambling harms and signal that such games are not appropriate for children,” with these proposed changes. They cited research which links “loot boxes and simulated gambling harms such as problem gambling.”

Unboxing the controversy

Loot boxes have become the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years, with some countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands banning them entirely due to chance-based aspects, with players potentially spending thousands of dollars for items, characters or upgrades rather than simply purchasing them directly.

Australia is particularly strict in terms of censorship and regulation of the media, and should these proposals be approved they would fall in line with other countries imposing restrictions on in-game purchases such as loot boxes. However, it should be noted that a rating of M is advisory, whereas the similarly named rating MA 15+ legally restricts people below the age of 15 from purchasing affected media. Although they may play or view MA 15+ media under the supervision of a parent or adult guardian. As such, despite these restrictions, players below the age of 15 would be able to access these titles unsupervised, and potentially purchase loot boxes.

While many coutnries are concerned regarding loot boxes some, such as Canada, have shown a greater level of acceptance towards the mechanic.