New PEGI ratings should go further on loot boxes to protect children

The introduction of PEGI’s new age rating is a significant and welcome acknowledgment that loot boxes are not appropriate for children. Raising the classification from PEGI 3 to PEGI 16, and in some cases PEGI 18, for games that include these features has the potential to better safeguard future generations of young people.

The latest updates to the PEGI rating system demonstrate a long-overdue focus on safeguarding children. However, by applying the package of changes only to new games submitted for classification from June this year, millions of children will remain exposed to the same risks in existing games, limiting their effectiveness.

It must be acknowledged that most of today’s top-grossing games are purposely designed to remain popular and relevant for years, with only a small number of new releases ever breaking into the charts. As a result, the new age rating changes will apply to very few of the games children are actually playing today.

When it comes to loot boxes, the guidance must go further. Loot boxes are, functionally, a game of chance where children can spend real or real-equivalent money for a randomised reward. This clearly mirrors the process of gambling from a stake, chance and prize perspective, but without the same regulatory safeguards.

Loot boxes deploy gambling-style techniques, including variable reward schedules with unpredictable wins, near-miss features that keep children hooked and time-limited offers that create urgency and artificial scarcity. Unlike regulated gambling, they often use complex virtual currencies that obscure real-world value, and are embedded seamlessly into gameplay, making it easy for children to spend without fully understanding the risks.

The psychological mechanisms underpinning loot boxes are directly comparable to those in gambling. Academic research shows that loot boxes employ similar behavioural design techniques to gambling products and are deliberately structured to encourage repeated spending. Leading academics from Newcastle University and Loughborough University have concluded that loot boxes can and do cause harm to children. The evidence is strong enough to justify classifying all games that feature loot boxes as PEGI 18.

However, we must not forget that PEGI ratings are guidance, not legally enforceable restrictions. They provide age recommendations and content descriptors to help parents and guardians make informed decisions, but they cannot prevent a child from playing a game. Retailers and platforms often follow PEGI ratings voluntarily, but compliance is inconsistent.

Some of the platforms most popular with children are not fully aligned with PEGI. Certain major platforms apply their own proprietary rating systems or do not uniformly adopt PEGI ratings for all games. This raises questions about the practical impact of the new ratings on protecting children immersed in the gaming world today.

More to be done

What is needed are clear, consistent rules across the entire sector, designed with children’s wellbeing at their core. Only then can guidance like PEGI truly support families and meaningfully reduce exposure to potentially harmful content.

Guidance for parents is always helpful and much needed, particularly as parents increasingly feel overwhelmed by the emerging and growing risks children face in the digital world, alongside a national conversation on online safety that is becoming louder. However, parental guidance alone is not enough. The accountability should not rest solely on parents and guardians to determine which games are suitable for their children, especially when technology is innovating so rapidly and many parents admit they do not fully understand elements of the digital world, including gaming, as well as their children do.

Accountability must be collective, shared among developers, tech companies, government and regulators. Gaming brings incredible benefits to children, and its positive aspects should be celebrated and embraced. It is a central part of children and young people’s culture. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to ensure that children can enjoy and thrive when gaming; protected from mechanisms and features that could negatively impact their wellbeing.

PEGI’s revised guidelines are a welcome step, but they are not a complete solution. As the gaming world continues to evolve at pace, there is an imperative to ensure that safeguarding measures keep up, providing the protection that current and future generations of young gamers deserve.

Emily Tofield is CEO of Ygam, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among children and young people.