Loot boxes may be classified as gambling in Sweden

The concept of loot-boxes passed all decency last year when especially four games threw all dignity overboard; Middle-earth: Shadow of War, NBA 2K18, Star Wars Battlefront II and Call of Duty: WWII. That has already caused several countries to investigate if it even is legal to market stuff like this to minors, considering that it really is gambling in the end.

Now the Swedish Minister of Civil Affairs, Ardalan Shekarabi, says to Sveriges Radio (Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster) that is just might be outlawed or regulated in Sweden. And that it might happen early next year:

"We are working to regain control of the gaming market as soon as possible and make sure that Swedish consumer protection rules apply to all actors involved in the gaming business."

There is still a lot that need's to happen before this can become law, and Shekarabi explains:

"I want to start with having our authorities and experts taking a look at this. It is obvious that there are a lot of people that are stuck in a gambling addiction, and also get caught into this type of gambling and loses money on it."

It's difficult to predict how this would affect gaming companies, particularly ones without an actual base of operation in the country, but presumably, services like Steam, PSN, and Xbox Live would need to comply, as they, in fact, are the vendors that games buy loot boxes from.

What do you think? Should loot boxes come under the same scrutiny as online casinos and betting with the appropriate age barriers?