Experts and lawyers are developing a regulatory proposal
In a press release from October 2nd, 2023, WestLotto published the proposed law to regulate loot boxes for the first time.
This proposal for legal regulation of gambling was the result of a “year-long exchange of experts” that WestLotto initiated and actively helped shape. Carsten Bringmann, lawyer at the Noerr law firm, finally formulated the draft and conceived it as Section 14b in the Youth Protection Act (JuSchG).
WestLotto managing director Christiane Jansen seems to be hopeful that the proposal will be taken up by the legislature:
We recognized gambling-like elements in gaming years ago as an ever-increasing problem for children and young people - which is why we are so intensively involved in this debate about solution-oriented regulation. […] We want to encourage concrete discussion among federal decision-makers.– Christiane Jensen, Managing Director of WestLotto, Source: WestLotto
At the end of November 2023, WestLotto had already invited people to a webinar to discuss the requirements of regulating loot boxes in a gambling context. With the draft law, WestLotto has now gone one step further.
What could the new Section 14b (JuSchG) prescribe?
In addition to a definition of what is meant by loot boxes, the draft law contains: new Section 14b of the JuSchG There are also various other points where, in the opinion of WestLotto and Carsten Bringmann, there is a need for regulation:
- Registering and depositing money with companies that offer loot boxes
- Content design and advertising for loot boxes
- Mandatory information and labeling of loot boxes
Specifically, it means that the offer and design of loot boxes should not run counter to the protection of minors. Advertising loot boxes to minors should not be allowed and must be marked accordingly.
In addition, technical obligations such as 2-factor authentication and setting a maximum deposit limit are anchored in the draft law. These regulations would apply not only to youth players, but across the board.
On the Federal Congress of Gambling, which is taking place today and tomorrow in Berlin, the regulation of loot boxes is also on the agenda. Carsten Bringmann will be there and will most likely present his proposed law.
However, it remains to be seen how quickly and in what form the Youth Protection Act will be adapted. At the moment we can only speculate as to whether the proposed law in its current formulation could convince a majority in the Bundestag.
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- Regulation of Loot Boxes as a Gambling Game Westlotto Publishes Proposal for Adaptation of the Youth Protection Act