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Gambling: Video Games

Asked by James McMurdockIndependentDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled Answered 23 January 2026UIN 106017

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department's report of 18 July 2023 entitled Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of those protections on protecting consumers.

Answered by Ian Murray

The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.

To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research shortly, alongside our next steps.

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