The authorities will review gambling regulations if loot boxes become a significant driver of gambling behaviour, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling.
Sun was responding to questions raised by lawmakers in parliament on a new bill to tighten casino regulations in Singapore and crack down on casino-related offences.
The bill, which proposes an amendment to the Casino Control Act (CCA), was passed on Sep. 10.
It criminalises acts such as breaching visit limits applied for by one's family, withdrawing bets after they have been placed and recording gaming machines within the casino.
Loot boxes are gambling too: Yong
One question that arose during the bill's reading on Sep. 10 was whether loot boxes in games would be similarly legislated.
Tanjong Pagar GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Melvin Yong noted that the authorities currently do not regulate chance-based loot boxes as gambling as long as there are no in-game monetization facilities.
But a loot box is inherently gambling disguised in the form of a game, Yong said.
To support this view, Yong cited an article from The Guardian on the link between online gaming and gambling addiction that was published in August.
The article noted that according to research, children who play games with loot boxes are much more likely to experience gambling problems when they enter adulthood.
One Australian researcher explained that because the odds in such games are better, it causes many who transition to gambling to think they will have the same likelihood of success.
"In the future, games could incorporate the concept of loot boxes and virtual tokens to allow players to gamble for some of the tokens, which could then be converted into money through a roundabout manner," Yong said.
Yong added that he hoped that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) can study this matter in our local context and examine if a tougher stance should be taken on regulating loot boxes.
Government will monitor landscape: Sun
In response, Sun said that authorities would continue to monitor the matter.
"Our current approach to regulating loot boxes is a balanced one. It aims to safeguard against gambling inducement, rather than gaming. We will continue to monitor the landscape closely."
Sun referred Yong to restrictions imposed by MHA in March to restrict the value of arcade prizes to less than S$100.
This was because of the higher risk of gambling inducement when large prices are offered, Sun remarked.
"Similarly, if we find that loot boxes are becoming a significant driver of gambling inducement, we will review our regulations," she concluded.
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