Abstract as per original application
(English/Chinese): |
Playing video games is now a highly popular activity worldwide and in Hong Kong (HK) specifically: 94% of secondary school students play at least weekly. Video games may cause harm to young people: 15.6% of students experienced ‘video game addiction.’ Many video games sell gambling-like ‘loot boxes.’ Players can buy these virtual items with real-world money to get random rewards allowing them to look cooler and fight more powerfully. Players obtain desirable rewards very rarely (less than 1% chance) and so must spend large sums of money to guarantee obtaining what they want. These products are psychologically similar to gambling but are not regulated as such by governments, meaning young people who are not permitted to participate in traditional gambling are currently allowed to purchase loot boxes. More than 50% of HK video game players likely buy loot boxes. Some reported extreme spending of over HK$100,000 monthly. Besides financial harms, these products may exacerbate video game addiction and encourage children to gamble. Other countries have regulated loot boxes, including bans and minimum age requirements to better protect players. However, these products have not been regulated in HK. This project provides crucial, but presently lacking, local evidence on loot box availability, product characteristics, and regulation. Firstly, relevant HK laws will be identified. Consumer protection and gambling laws will be reviewed to identify how they apply and what obligations they place on companies. For example, the Trade Descriptions Ordinance requires that sellers must not hide important information, which when applied to the loot box context means that companies must tell players the probabilities for getting specific random rewards. Secondly, we will examine the 100 most popular games in HK through gameplay to identify how many of them sell loot boxes and how, thus providing evidence on how widely available these products are. Thirdly, we will assess whether the loot boxes identified comply with applicable HK law. For example, are players given information about their probabilities of winning rare rewards as required? We will also assess video game advertising materials published on HK social media as to whether they comply with consumer law. Our findings will be shared with regulators to encourage stricter enforcement against companies that do not follow rules. We will also create a public website that shares information about how loot boxes are regulated in different regions globally to help companies understand their regulatory obligations.
玩電子遊戲已成為全球（尤其是中國香港）一項極受歡迎的活動：94%的中學生至少每週玩一次。電子遊戲可能對青少年造成危害：15.6%的學生曾經歷過「電子遊戲成癮」。許多電子遊戲銷售類似賭博性質的「戰利品箱」（loot boxes）。玩家可用現實貨幣購買這些虛擬物品，以獲取隨機獎勵，讓角色外觀更酷或戰鬥力更強。由於獲得心儀獎勵的幾率極低（不足1%），玩家往往需投入大量資金才能確保獲得所需物品。從心理層面來看，這些產品與賭博無異，但政府並未將其歸類為賭博進行監管；這意味著，被禁止參與傳統賭博的青少年目前卻可以購買戰利品箱。超過50%的香港玩家可能曾經購買過戰利品箱，部分玩家甚至每月花費超過10萬港元。除了經濟損失外，這些產品還可能加劇電子遊戲成癮，並誘導兒童參與賭博。其他國家已對戰利品箱實施監管（包括禁止銷售或設定最低年齡限制），以更好地保護玩家；然而，香港尚未對此類產品進行監管。本計畫旨在提供關於戰利品箱的普及程度、產品特性及監管現狀的本地實證數據——這些資訊至關重要，但目前尚付闕如。首先，我們將整理香港相關法律，審查消費者權益保護法及賭博法規，以明確其適用範圍及對企業規定的義務。例如，《商品說明條例》規定銷售者不得隱瞞重要資訊；若應用於戰利品箱，這意味著企業必須向玩家揭露獲得特定隨機獎勵的幾率。其次，我們將透過實際遊玩，檢視香港最受歡迎的100款遊戲，分析其中有多少款遊戲銷售戰利品箱及其銷售模式，從而揭示此類產品的普及程度。第三，我們將評估已識別的戰利品箱是否符合香港現行法律規定。例如，遊戲是否按要求向玩家告知獲得稀有獎勵的幾率？我們也將評估在香港社群媒體上發布的電子遊戲廣告素材，檢查是否符合消費者權益保護法規。我們將與監管機構分享研究結果，推動其對違規企業採取更嚴格的執法行動。此外，我們將建立一個公開網站，分享全球不同地區關於戰利品箱的監管資訊，幫助企業了解其應盡的監管合規義務。
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