The battle over children and loot-boxes continue as the mental health director of Britain’s NHS, Claire Murdoch, has urged the games industry to do something about loot-boxes being present in video games as well as being accessible to children.
Website gamesindustry.biz has covered Murdoch’s loot-box ban, in which the official statement can be found on the NHS website detailing the organization’s thoughts on monetization mechanics, gambling, and addiction.
But that’s not all, according to the NHS director, she believes loot-boxes can impact children and their well being in a harmful way.
Here’s an excerpt of Murdoch pleading with other industry bodies to take heed to her call so that organizations and other firms can band together to ban loot-boxes in videos games to help children:
“Frankly no company should be setting up kids for addiction by teaching them to gamble on the content of these loot boxes. No firm should sell to children loot box games with this element of chance, so yes those sales should end.
Young people’s health is at stake, and although the NHS is stepping up with these new innovative services available to families through our Long Term Plan, we cannot do this alone, so other parts of society must do what they can to limit risks and safeguard children’s wellbeing.”
The publication site highlights that this loot-box ban plays a part in the company’s “Long Term Plan” to improve mental health. As of now, the health service has a new treatment center up that will be joined by 14 other NHS gambling clinics across the UK in the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, Murdoch wants the games industry to ban loot-boxes, especially in titles that children love, and she also wants upfront loot-box drop rates and “fair and realistic spending limits.”
Nevertheless, while Murdoch wants parents to become more aware of what their children are playing and the contents in said games, she also feels that the Gambling Commission should classify games with loot-boxes as gambling.
Lastly, there’s no word on if other firms and organizations will take up Murdoch’s call, but time will surely tell if they do.