How ‘Loot Boxes’ Unlock Video Game Gambling Worries

Scoring the most points or unlocking more exciting stages in a video game used to require practice and patience. Today, gamers can often skip the grind and pay to get ahead by buying so-called loot boxes -- virtual vaults containing items such as tokens, better weapons or faster cars. As the popularity of loot boxes grows, so does the controversy over whether they offer an unfair competitive advantage to the wealthiest players. Worse, some critics contend that loot boxes constitute a form of gambling because players sometimes don’t know what’s inside when they buy them. The concern has caught the attention of regulators, who are cracking down on game makers.

Loot boxes take many forms: packs of cards, treasure chests or even, in the case of Epic Games Inc.’s blockbuster shoot’em up Fortnite, llama-shaped piñatas. In most games, the more expensive the box, the better the loot. Some titles, like Words With Friends, use loot boxes as rewards for logging into a game each day, and some can be won for free. But almost all can be purchased using real money, and it’s this aspect that draws the most concern, especially when kids are buying them.