Top-selling mobile games are breaking the rules on loot boxes.

The most popular mobile games in the UK are being advertised without revealing that they contain loot boxes – random in-game purchases that critics say are “exploitative” and “hypothetically addictive”. .

The regulator, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), says it bans and removes ads that fail to make it clear whether a game has a loot box.

But a BBC investigation found that only two of the 45 top-grossing games on the Google Play Store actually follow these rules.

Dr Jane Rigby, chief executive of the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM), described the findings as “deeply worrying”.

“In the absence of strong regulation in gaming, it is important for games to provide clear and transparent information about their features, allowing both parents and gamers to make informed decisions,” he said. said

In a statement, the ASA said: “This is an ongoing area of ​​our work, and we are closely monitoring the sector to discover the extent of compliance and act accordingly.”

However, some say the regulator lacks the teeth to deal with the problem.

“Although the ASA has upheld some complaints, it takes so long to process all these things properly – they will go to a company and say, ‘You must comply,'” said Leon Y. Zhao. ‘, but they don’t comply,” said Leon Y. Zhao. Video game regulation researcher at the IT University of Copenhagen.

“People are going into a video game not knowing the potential dangers, and it’s assuming that people understand the danger of loot boxes as well.”

Loot boxes contain random digital items that gamers can only reveal through gameplay or – more controversially – by paying.

The game’s makers have previously defended it as akin to a chocolate egg with a plastic toy, with kids not knowing exactly what they’re getting until they buy and open the egg.

But critics say they are actually a form of gambling, with Report in 2022 It has been concluded by the Norwegian Consumer Council that they “often involve exploiting consumers through predatory methods, promoting addiction, targeting vulnerable consumer groups and more.”

That same year, the UK government resisted pressure to regulate loot boxes, saying that the video game industry could regulate itself instead.

Trade body UK published guidance in July 2023, including a requirement to display loot boxes before games are purchased, giving the industry a year to comply.

But, more than 12 months later, the BBC has discovered that the majority of major mobile games containing loot boxes are still breaking the rules, with most games only revealing their presence if players visit the Play Store. Tap the info button.

Adrian Hohn, head of game developer Six to Start, said the games industry “has a track record of easily ignoring or forgetting regulations that can interfere with their ability to sell to players”.

“We know that many people, including children, struggle to spend more on loot boxes,” he said, adding that they are deliberately designed to be “habit forming”.

“The least game companies can do is disclose the existence of loot boxes, but they won’t even do that – it’s an indictment of their priorities and lack of care for vulnerable players.”

The BBC examined the ads for 45 of the top-grossing games on Google’s Play Store, alongside Apple’s App Store where the majority of people access mobile games.

Of those 45, 26 were labeled as including loot boxes – 22 of which were being advertised at the same time.

However, only two of these titles revealed the presence of loot boxes in their advertisements.

Monopoly GO, the top-grossing game on the Play Store featuring loot boxes, was among those that didn’t mention random in-game purchases in its ads.

The game has been downloaded more than 50 million times, generating more than $3bn (£2.37bn) in revenue, according to IP owner Hasbro.

Mr Zhao told the BBC that the findings were in line with preliminary findings from his own research, which also found that around 90 per cent of games containing loot boxes were not disclosing it in their advertisements.

The BBC has contacted Hasbro, Meta and ASA for comment.

Zoë Osmond, CEO of GambleAware, said she was “deeply concerned” about the normalization of “gambling-like activities” for children.

“We know from our previous research that many children have described how their online spaces are saturated with content that often blurs the lines between gaming and gambling,” he said.

“Exposure to this gambling-like material from an early age may increase the risk of experiencing gambling harm later in life.”