Sen. Grooms has introduced SB 177 which urges the study of loot boxes in video games. Specifically, it requires the Indiana Gaming Commission to provide the legislative council with recommendations on how best to regulate loot boxes in online games and applications and options for a regulatory system concerning the sale of such games and appropriate disclosures.
The legislation itself doesn’t make this explicit, but the referral to the Gaming Commission indicates the concern that these loot boxes are a type of gambling. Here is the first explainer that came up on Google regarding the general issue. Players pay additional money to get the “loot box” – bonus items with additional items or features related to the game. I use the term “bonus” somewhat loosely, since the additional items or features can be important to game play. It can be similar to gambling in that there is an element of chance – you don’t know what you’re getting. Depending on how it’s set up, there can be a slot machine effect, where you combine gaming and intermittent reward mechanisms to create an addictive dynamic. Also, it can be somewhat unclear prior to purchase how important the additional pay-to-play elements are to game play.
Let’s pick a but more significant issue to work on? I would suggest: highways, infrastructure, schools and rural issues. I am wondering who thinks they are losing money on this?
This is the silly season part of the session. It’s a long session and bills are just being introduced. Most of the proposed legislation will go more or less straight to the trash can. It won’t be shocking if the General Assembly’s priorities turn out to be misguided, but it’ll be a few weeks until we can figure out in what way the priorities might be misdirected this year.