The Australian federal government has announced a range of proposed reforms to the country’s National Classification Scheme that would introduce a mandatory classification restricting video and social games which contain simulated gambling to people aged 18 and over. The classification would also introduce an M rating for games containing loot boxes, meaning “not recommended for persons under 15 years”.
The proposed reforms follow release of a Review of Australian Classification Regulation, known as the Stevens Review, with the government claiming they are an “immediate priority” in order to “help to protect those most vulnerable in our community from gambling harms, and signal that such games are not appropriate for children.”
