After stating they were looking into the legality of microtransactions in video games back in November, Hawaiian lawmakers have introduced four new bills aimed at the lucrative practice.
The first two bills would prohibit the sale of games with randomized loot boxes to anyone under the age of 21. The other two would force developers to show loot box drop rates in-game and, in conjunction, label every game that would use randomized loot boxes.
Of course, these new bills come to no surprise to most of the video game world. In fact, Chris Lee, Hawaii state representative, claims that over half of the legislative bodies in the United States have been looking into the issue of microtransactions. As for the overseas market, China passed laws back in 2016 requiring developers to publish loot box odds, and the Belgium Gaming Commission has stated that loot boxes are “dangerous for the mental health of children.”
Although no laws in the U.S. have officially been passed yet, it is certain that the microtransaction world will probably be changing sooner rather than later. As always, we will have to wait and see if this will benefit or hinder the gaming market.
