01/18/2023 4:42 pm (act. 01/18/2023 4:55 pm)
Various regulations and laws will be changed to protect players. ©CanvaPro
The European Parliament wants to introduce uniform rules to protect video game players.
The vast majority of MEPs voted in Strasbourg on Wednesday in favor of a corresponding report by the EU’s Internal Market Committee, which, among other things, proposes measures to protect against gambling addiction.
According to the Parliament, the protection of minors in particular should receive greater attention. As per the demands, parents should have more control over how much time and money their children spend on video games. In addition, manufacturers would have to provide more detailed information on game age and content recommendations.
High numbers of games in Europe
According to the European Parliament, half of Europeans between the ages of 6 and 64 play computer games. In children aged 6 to 10 it is 73%, in young people between 11 and 14 it is even 84%.
In the future, Parliament would like to better protect young people, in particular, against so-called pay-to-win systems. Players would be asked to use in-game currency or real money to gain benefits or progress through the game. This practice risks children and young people getting into debt just to be successful in a game, warned the spokesman for the internal market policy of the EPP group, Andreas Schwab (CDU).
Loot boxes must be under gambling regulation
His colleague René Repasi of the SPD also emphasized that, in his opinion, practices such as loot boxes should be subject to EU gambling regulations. Loot boxes are virtual boxes with rewards or random items such as weapons or abilities, some of which can only be opened by the player for a fee. As the SPD has yet announced, the EU Commission must now turn the parliamentary proposal into a legislative draft.
Despite its criticisms, Parliament also highlighted the potential of Europe’s fast-growing video games industry, which employs over 90,000 people. For example, he proposed creating a European online video game award to promote the industry.