The Australian Classification Board has added in-game purchases as one of its categories for video game ratings, mandating that microtransactions be disclosed on game boxes. Australia has had its worries about loot boxes in the past and has held several investigations into their effects. That's not the only place loot boxes have had issues, as they were almost made illegal in parts of Europe until the EU favored broader, less restrictive consumer protection.
While ESRB and PEGI respectively, are independent, that is not the case for all nations. The Australian Classification Board is an official arm of the Australian government and was created back in 1970, but didn't rate video games until 2005. The board rates games for depictions of common issues such as violence, language, nudity, sex and drug use.
The quiet change in ratings policy was noticed by Reddit ESRB made a similar change this year, listening to advice from the video game industry in adding disclosures about in-game purchases. The difference between an independent ratings group and a government ratings group taking this action is that the governmental one sets a precedent in international law and has more power in forcing gaming companies to comply.
Like the EU, Australia, tried to classify loot boxes as gambling so it could apply existing regulations to games featuring them. The attempt failed just like the EU's did, since it's very tricky to fit loot boxes into gambling's narrow legal definition. That being said, the same report that confirmed that loot boxes weren't gambling recommended that they be restricted to games only playable by adults 18 years old and up, using mandatory age verification. This new classification by the ACB could either be a step in that direction or could be the compromise so that games can keep using loot boxes without age gating.
Gaming has grown exponentially over the last couple decades and is now one of the biggest media industries on the planet. Most governments are still trying to adapt their regulations to suit gaming. Loot boxes and microtransactions are issues that get a lot of attention because they elicit such a negative response from consumers, but there are other problems such as labor issues surrounding video game development that also remain unaddressed. As time goes on and the industry continues to grow, gamers should expect governments stepping in more with regulation. It's important for gaming enthusiasts to , though, it's often better for workers and consumers for things to be overregulated than underregulated.
Source: BeforeJam/Reddit