Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and acknowledge our role in the joint declaration of European regulators. In popular games such as Overwatch where if one purchases a loot box, the box starts shaking on the screen and there are flying discs and a final reveal, and it is all designed to heighten the appeal. It is very much like watching an episode of "Winning Streak". Similarly, in the Fortnite game, which is also popular, the "Save the World" game features blind loot boxes. While Epic Games has said the system will be replaced by an X-ray system, there are currently brightly coloured piñatas that are cracked open with the potential to win in-game goodies. There will soon be X-ray llamas in order that the player will know before purchasing what they contain, which I welcome.

York St. John University and the University of York came together to conduct an extensive study of 8,500 gamers, and they found a direct link between adults who have problems with gambling and the time they spent on loot boxes, which is something we should be conscious of. They recommended a loot box restriction and that, at the least, there should be an age restriction on loot boxes in line with other types of gambling in order that they are treated as another form of gambling, which should be borne in mind.

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