Asked by: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent underage access to gambling via loot boxes, skin betting and other third party markets linked to video games.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone, including children.
Prizes that can be won via loot boxes do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed-out, and are of value only within the context of the game. They are therefore not legally classified as gambling. However, where products do amount to unlicensed gambling, such as unlicensed skin betting, the Gambling Commission has shown that it will take swift enforcement action. There are currently no licensed gambling operators which offer skin betting.
In July 2023 the video game industry published new loot box principles to improve protections for players. Following a 12-month implementation period, the government commissioned independent academic research to assess the effectiveness of this guidance. We have engaged relevant government departments and regulators to consider the research. We will publish the report and set out our next steps in the near future..
Asked by: Lord Butler of Brockwell (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Twycross on Thursday 15 January (Hansard: HL Deb col 183), when they expect to publish the report on industry-led guidance on loot boxes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.
To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research in the near future, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
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.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent research her Department has conducted on the impact on children of gambling-based mechanics in video games which utilise microtransactions such as loot boxes.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.
To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research shortly, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how is she ensuring funding into services for people with gambling and gaming dependencies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April 2025, the statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. In its first year, the levy has raised just under £120 million, 50% of which is allocated to NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to deliver treatment and support services, with 30% allocated to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission prevention activity across Great Britain.
NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities are working collaboratively on the development of their respective gambling treatment and prevention programmes during this period of transition to the new levy system. NHS England continues to work at pace to take on commissioning responsibility for the full treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare from 1 April 2026.
NHS England currently funds a National Centre for Gaming Disorders, offering help and support for people in England aged 13 years old and over, who have difficulty controlling their gaming and the impact it has on their lives. NHS England is currently considering the future approach to gaming services.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment her Department has made of (a) loot boxes in video games and (b) gambling products; and what steps she is taking to mitigate potential harms associated with loot box mechanics, particularly for children and young people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place.
Prizes that can be won via loot boxes do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed-out, and are of value only within the context of the game. They are therefore not legally classified as gambling. However, evidence has shown an association between loot boxes and gambling-related harm.
To improve protections in games containing loot boxes, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period, after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research shortly, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department's report of 18 July 2023 entitled Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of those protections on protecting consumers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.
To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research shortly, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to schools on gambling-like features in video games, including loot boxes and in-game spending, as part of online safety education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) supports children and young people to manage risk and make informed decisions in relation to their mental wellbeing and online behaviour.
The updated RSHE statutory guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught the risks relating to online gaming, video game monetisation, scams, fraud and other financial harms, and that gaming can become addictive.
Curriculum content also includes the risks related to online gambling and gambling-like content within gaming, including the accumulation of debt.
The departments online safety guidance covers how to teach about all aspects of internet safety and includes content on gaming and gambling, and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver important topics and use their autonomy and local community knowledge to do this.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the risk of skin gambling on young people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Unlicensed skins gambling websites operate illegally outside of the video game ecosystem. Earlier this year, we commissioned independent research to better understand skins gambling and its impact on children and young people. The resulting rapid evidence review on skins gambling was published in September. This review and its conclusions will form part of our consideration when determining what future policy changes may be needed around how to best protect children and young people from skins gambling related harms.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) implementation of guidance entitled Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, published on 18 July 2023.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, guidance is followed so that appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages.
Following the implementation period of the industry-led protections, DCMS commissioned independent academic research into their effectiveness. The research is in its final stages and a report will be published in due course.