Why Certain States Are Looking at Putting Restrictions on Gaming

Posted by jennifer in May, 2020

Video games are a constantly debated topic the world over. Since their conception all those years ago there have always been conspiracy theorists and those outspoken who cry havoc. The belief used to be they would rot your brain and irradiate you. This was proven to be false, and actually quite the opposite in terms of brain rotting. But this hasn’t stopped video games being the centre of controversy year after year. And to this end, certain states are starting to look at putting restrictions on gaming. But why? Below we are going to take a look.

Gambling

Now when we talk about gambling, we do not mean casino games and slot machines. Those are already heavily regulated. But it is this regulation that has seeped into the murky gray area of gaming. In recent years there has been a new trend emerging in the gaming world. Loot Boxes. These boxes allow gamers to pay real-world money for a box that will give a random drop of either cosmetic digital items or in-game boosts. Now here is where the funny part comes in. Many people in the gaming community quickly jumped to point out this is nothing more than gambling.

The idea is, the user is after a certain cosmetic or item. These items, normally in games, would be available to buy with in-game currency or real-world currency. But by taking away the ability to simply buy the item and locking it behind a random chance system, they are making a gambling mechanic. Since there is no guarantee of the user getting what they want, it could require a lot more money to get it.

Gaming companies, such as EA, are quick to shoot down this idea, but it is not only the gaming community that seems to think this is true. The EU was one of the first associations to start looking at placing gambling regulations on gaming companies to stop them from carrying out systems like this. The main problem is the ability for users to use their own money on these random loot systems. It is here where real-world problems are created.

Violence

The age-old argument about video games. Violence. Whenever a popular, yet violent game, makes waves in the world, it is often put under scrutiny by the general public. There have been countless games, mainly shooters. Sites like https://fps101.com/ keep track of such games for the information and entertainment of the gaming public. But those seeking to regulate these games look upon these sites with an eye of disdain.

The main argument goes that violent video games make us violent by nature. A popular game, manhunt, was banned in the UK in the early 2000s due to a school kid stabbing another, supposedly being inspired by the game. But many experts have since disproven this. The issue often lies with the people themselves and they will always find some inspiration for their actions, video games or otherwise.

None the less, states are looking are putting in stricter regulations when it comes to video game violence. The idea is that if the violence is at least regulated to a degree, it won’t influence the more impressionable players out there. But others argue that it is tantamount to censorship and the government has no right to be doing this. But wherever you stand on the topic, it is important to take all the factors into account. There are a lot of aspects that go into regulation discussions that can’t be ignored.