NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch has called on gaming companies to address the potential for gambling addiction by banning so-called "loot boxes" from their products.
Loot boxes are virtual collections of items such as weapons or characters that can be used in the game. The boxes can be purchased by children for significant amounts of money, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of their parents. Murdoch believes that the fact people do not know what items they will be given until they’ve paid encourages them to keep spending and playing.
Examples of children spending money without their parents’ knowledge include a 16-year-old who spent £2,000 on a basketball game and a 15-year-old who lost £1,000 in a shooting game.
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