Loot boxes, app stores and iGaming: EU focuses on protecting minors
A written parliamentary question submitted to the European Commission has brought the relationship between mobile video games, the protection of minors and digital monetisation models back into focus. MEPs Nicolás González Casares and Laura Ballarín Cereza, both from the S&D group (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats), have asked the European Commission to clarify which responsibilities fall on major online platforms and operators that distribute apps through leading digital marketplaces allegedly using potentially manipulative systems.
As stated in the parliamentary question, the mobile game Age of Origins allegedly used aggressive monetisation mechanisms, misleading advertising, dark patterns, and dynamics comparable to simulated gambling. The issue centres above all on the risks for minors and more vulnerable consumers.
European Commission faces questions over gaming risks
The question raises three main issues for the European Commission. The first concerns the level of responsibility of the main online platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and of app stores designated as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The MEPs ask whether these entities should be considered responsible when they profit from monetisation systems or crypto-assets that may be harmful or unlawful and could also affect minors.
The DSA imposes specific obligations on these platforms. The DMA, meanwhile, introduces rules for so-called gatekeepers, meaning operators that control access to strategic digital markets. In this context, the MEPs ask whether app stores should take a more active role in preventing harmful business models, particularly when minors are involved.
The second issue examined concerns the possibility of launching an investigation or a coordinated enforcement action into the systemic risks generated by mobile gaming ecosystems. The risks cited include consumers’ mental health, financial security, and fundamental rights.
In the third question, Nicolás González Casares and Laura Ballarín Cereza ask the Commission how it intends to strengthen, at the European level, the protection of minors against loot boxes, random in-game purchases, simulated gambling, and manipulative monetisation mechanisms. The MEPs link the request to the future Digital Fairness Act (DFA), which has not yet entered into force, and to the review of the regulation on cooperation between national authorities in individual Member States for consumer protection.
Loot boxes and random rewards
Loot boxes are virtual prize boxes found within a video game. The user pays, using real or virtual money, to open a box without knowing what is inside. It may contain a weapon, a character or bonuses. It is precisely this element of chance that has placed loot boxes at the centre of concerns among regulators and consumer groups.
In the case of minors, the problem is not only economic spending. European authorities are also paying increasing attention to the possible link between random rewards, psychological pressure, manipulative design, and the normalisation of behaviour similar to gambling.
The issue has also entered the political debate in Italy. Stefano Vaccari, a deputy from the Democratic Party, speaking on the proposed law to protect minors’ access to digital platforms and social networks, referred to the risks associated with loot boxes, random rewards, time pressure, and predatory forms of monetisation. According to Vaccari, when these mechanisms are aimed at minors, they are not simply technical elements of a game but psychological levers that require stricter rules for platforms and digital services.
Consumer protection in online gaming
With the resolution Consumer protection in online video games: a European single market approach, approved on 18 January 2023, the European Parliament had already highlighted the need for stronger consumer protection and called for an EU-wide approach. The text highlighted the need for greater transparency regarding content, in-game purchases, and age-rating systems, with particular attention to minors.
For the European Parliament, therefore, the issue is not simply that a video game sells additional content, but whether the way it sells that content allows the consumer, and especially the minor, to understand what they are buying, how much they are spending, and what commercial pressures they are being subjected to.
App stores, platforms and responsibility
A central element of the question concerns the role of Apple and Alphabet, the companies that control the App Store and Google Play, respectively. The political question is not only about the conduct of an individual developer, but also the responsibility of digital intermediaries that distribute, promote, and monetise apps and video games.
As early as October 2025, the European Commission had contacted companies such as Snapchat, YouTube, Apple App Store, and Google Play to request clarification on the measures these platforms had adopted to protect minors.
Snapchat was asked to clarify which measures it uses to prevent access by minors under 13, as required by its terms and conditions. The video-sharing platform YouTube was also asked to provide more details about its recommendation system, following reports concerning the spread of content harmful to minors.
Regarding the Apple App Store and Google Play, the European Commission asked for information on how they manage the risk that users, including minors, download illegal or otherwise harmful applications, such as gambling apps.
What could happen now?
The European Commission will have to respond to the written question. Its response may clarify whether the EU executive considers it necessary to intervene in the specific case or, more broadly, across mobile gaming ecosystems.
It is not yet certain that the question will automatically lead to a formal investigation. However, the document adds to political pressure on platforms, app stores, and video game developers. Finding a European regulatory balance is also becoming increasingly urgent.
For Brussels, the challenge will be to establish whether the current rules are sufficient or whether new legislative or regulatory tools are needed. But time may prove to be the institutions’ real adversary. The real challenge will be introducing new rules quickly enough for a sector that, by its very nature, evolves day by day.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 11 June 2026.
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