Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry.

The Government has not considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry. Video games are already regulated by a number of legislative and voluntary measures, governed by several enforcement bodies.

Video games are regulated with age ratings, which protect children and vulnerable people from inappropriate content. The Government works closely with the Games Rating Authority (GRA) who are designated by Government to ensure games are appropriately rated and include information for buyers on potentially harmful content, for example violence or bad language.

The Online Safety Act, made law on 26 October 2023, applies to online services which allow users to share content and interact with one another. This definition includes some video games, for example those with in-game chat functions. The Act is enforced by Ofcom.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes; which includes online and in-game advertisements, such as advertising of microtransactions or loot boxes.

Finally, where video game products amount to unlicensed gambling, such as skins gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown it will take strong enforcement action.