Hawley, Markey, Blumenthal Introduce Bill to Ban Video Games Loot Boxes

Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Thursday introduced legislation that would ban the videogame industry from using “pay-to-win” and “loot box” practices. The legislation targets games used by minors. Incentivizing children to spend money on microtransactions in order to win competitive videogames is exploitative, the lawmakers said. The bill would apply to games for general audiences and minor-oriented games. “Inherently manipulative game features that take advantage of kids and turn play time into pay time should be out of bounds,” Markey said. Cowen analyst Paul Gallant said Friday that the bill would have significant industry impact, particularly for mobile gaming, “which generates the vast majority of its revenue from microtransactions." However, given pro-business Republicans, congressional gridlock and constitutional questions, Gallant believes the bill is unlikely to pass, he wrote investors. The FTC has an Aug. 7 workshop on loot boxes.