European Commission proposes ban on paid loot boxes for minors
The draft would also require probability disclosures and opt-out tools for paid random rewards, while flagging hidden influencer promotions for gambling.
Key points
- The draft would prohibit paid random rewards for minors in services directed at them or where their age is reasonably known.
- Businesses would have to disclose available items and their probabilities before purchase.
- All users would receive a way to disable paid variable rewards.
- The proposal flags hidden influencer marketing of betting, lotteries and other gambling products.
The European Commission proposed restrictions on paid loot boxes for minors across the European Union in a draft Digital Fairness Act published on November 12, 2026.
The proposal would also require businesses to disclose the possible rewards and their probabilities before purchase and give all users a way to disable paid random rewards. It addresses influencer marketing that conceals commercial intent, including promotions for gambling products, Focus Gaming News reported.
Article 15 covers paid variable reward systems, including loot boxes, wheels of fortune and collectible card packs. These provide random rewards or variable odds and are bought with real money or paid-for virtual currency.
Under the draft, traders could not offer those paid rewards to minors when a product is directed at them or the trader can determine with reasonable certainty that they use it. Free, non-monetized random rewards would not be affected.
The proposal links paid random rewards to gambling-like speculative features and warns that they can lead to unwanted spending. Businesses would have to provide an accessible and effective opt-out, although the draft does not specify its technical format.
A separate section warns that children may see influencers as peers and have difficulty recognizing hidden advertising. It identifies betting, lotteries and other gambling products among goods that influencers may market and that could be harmful or unsuitable for consumers or minors.
The draft aims to replace the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive with directly applicable EU-wide rules. It requires negotiation and approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union; if passed without major amendments, the rules would take effect 12 months after the legislation enters into force.
There is no common EU framework for determining whether loot boxes are gambling products, according to Focus Gaming News. Belgium has classified paid loot boxes as illegal gambling, while the Netherlands has restricted certain mechanics.
Sources
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