What the law says
Loot boxes tick two of the three boxes without argument. You pay, and the contents are random. The fight is over the prize. Most gambling laws only count a prize that’s worth money, and in most games you can’t sell what comes out of a loot box.
Belgium was the first to say that doesn’t matter. In 2018 its gambling regulator ruled that paid loot boxes are games of chance, which made selling them without a licence illegal. The Netherlands tried something similar against EA’s FIFA packs, but its top administrative court overturned that in 2022, ruling that the packs were part of a game of skill.
Most countries have gone for softer rules instead. The UK decided in 2022 not to change its gambling law, and the industry now promises parental consent for under-18s and published odds. China has required games to publish loot box odds since 2017. Brazil went further, banning loot boxes in games children are likely to play from March 2026.
The US is starting to move
There’s no US law treating loot boxes as gambling, but the pressure is building. In January 2025 the FTC fined HoYoverse, the maker of Genshin Impact, $20 million and banned it from selling loot boxes to under-16s without a parent’s consent. That case was about misleading players over odds and real prices, not gambling law. New York’s lawsuit against Valve in 2026 goes further. It argues that Counter-Strike cases are illegal gambling because the skins inside can be sold, and some rare ones have gone for more than $1 million.
What the research says
A 2018 study of 7,422 adult gamers found that loot box spending was linked to problem gambling far more strongly than other in-game spending, and a later study of 16 to 18-year-olds found the link was even stronger. Most of this research is a snapshot in time, so it can’t prove loot boxes cause gambling problems. One study that followed young adults for six months did find that more loot box spending predicted starting to gamble.
What it means for you
For adults, a loot box now and then is a small, mostly harmless spend, as long as you treat it as paying for a surprise and not as a way to win. For parents it’s worth more care. Turn on purchase controls, check whether a game shows its odds, and treat games where items can be sold for cash as gambling.
Questions people also ask
Are loot boxes illegal in the US?
No. There's no federal or state law that treats them as gambling. The FTC fined the maker of Genshin Impact $20 million in 2025 for misleading players about odds and costs, and New York is suing Valve over Counter-Strike cases whose items can be sold.
Did Belgium ban loot boxes?
Its gambling regulator ruled in 2018 that paid loot boxes are illegal gambling. Enforcement has been weak, though. A 2022 check found 82 of the 100 top-grossing iPhone games in Belgium still sold them.
Are loot boxes gambling in the UK?
Not legally. The government decided in 2022 not to change the law, and the games industry adopted its own rules in 2023, including parental consent for under-18s.
Do loot boxes cause gambling problems?
The link is consistent across many studies, but most of them can't prove cause and effect. One study that followed young adults over time found more loot box spending predicted starting to gamble later.
Sources
- China Ministry of Culture, notice on regulating online game operations (2016, in force May 2017)
- Belgian Gaming Commission, research report on loot boxes (2018)
- Xiao (2023), The ineffectiveness of Belgium's regulation of loot boxes, Collabra Psychology
- Raad van State ruling on FIFA loot boxes (2022)
- UK government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes (2022)
- Brazil Law 15.211/2025 (Digital ECA)
- FTC, Genshin Impact developer banned from selling loot boxes to teens without parental consent (2025)
- New York Attorney General sues Valve (2026)
- Zendle and Cairns (2018), Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling, PLoS ONE
- Zendle, Meyer and Over (2019), Adolescents and loot boxes, Royal Society Open Science
- Brooks and Clark (2023), longitudinal study of loot boxes and gambling, Computers in Human Behavior