Back in November, Star Wars Battlefront II brought loot boxes into the limelight as EA and DICE waded through seemingly endless controversy.  The battle against publishers and loot boxes is far from over as regulatory bodies have gotten involved, seeking to impose government restrictions on the industry. Belgium, the UK, PEGI, the ESRB, multiple gaming commissions, France, and the ESA, among a number of other entities have all gotten involved in the conversation. For those in the US, Hawaii did a lot more than just talk about it. They have now introduced four bills that would draw age restrictions and require publishers to disclose the odds present in loot box purchases.
House Bill 2686 and Senate Bill 3024 would prohibit the sale of any game that features a system where players can purchase a random reward using real money to anyone under the age of 21. For context, age restrictions on M-rated games and R-rated movies are not currently legally enforceable. Both are industry mandated restrictions set up by regulatory bodies within their respective industries (the ESRB and the MPAA), but an individual doesn’t face legal punishment for being underage and buying, viewing, or playing R and M-rated content. House Bill 2727 and Senate Bill 3025 would require developers and publishers to prominently label games containing randomized purchase systems and disclose odds and probability of getting any particular item through that system. This pair of bills is the one that is f...