Recently, three major gaming companies, Electronic Arts, Jagex, and Miniclip, have come under scrutiny for failing to disclose the presence of loot boxes in their game advertisements. This issue was brought to light by Leon Y. Xiao, who played a pivotal role in the ban of loot boxes in Belgium.
According to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, it is a requirement for game advertisements that feature loot boxes to clearly disclose their presence. However, it seems that these tech giants failed to adhere to this regulation in their marketing efforts.
Leon Y. Xiao took to Twitter to express his frustration with developers and publishers who neglect to make these disclosures. He highlighted the challenges of enforcing laws in countries with lax regulations and shared alarming statistics about the impact of non-compliant advertising.
I also question whether complaining about non-UK-based companies is helpful because the UK advertising regulator has little enforcement powers beyond UK borders.
— Leon Y. Xiao (@LeonXiaoY) March 20, 2024
Companies based in China, Israel, and the US, in particular, can more or less break rules with no real consequences.
Upon being notified of their violations by the ASA, each company offered explanations for their actions:
- EA: Claimed the ads were mistakenly published without the required disclosure due to human error.
- Jagex: Stated that ad creators were limited by time and space, but maintained that they were compliant.
- Miniclip: Emphasized that the advertised game could be played for free but still chose to withdraw the ad.
The ongoing debate surrounding loot boxes and similar mechanics continues to divide the gaming community. While some accept them as a part of the gaming experience, others view them as a problematic aspect of the industry that needs to be addressed.
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