RESPONSIBLE GAMING
without reconfirmation provides another speed bump before exposing real-money features. Activity patterns suggestive of kids attempting to bypass guards should trigger automated identity revalidation. Users themselves also need better customization around financial visibility. Family safety settings enabling spending caps, self-cool-off periods, and other constraints allow people to control their environment and limits. Synchronizing these tools to player accounts across partner platforms strengthens self-governance. These safeguards reinforce age boundaries across sites. Ensuring clear separation between adult and minor spaces supports lawful entertainment while protecting those legally barred. Through persistent architecture considerations and consumer tools, real-money gaming and youth protection can coexist responsibly. Publicizing terms of use A Web3 attorney experienced in real-money and skill-based gaming can assist businesses to craft a legally sound terms of service (TOS) agreement that frames the restrictions and permissions for participation. Beyond protecting the company legally, TOS design choices demonstrate regulatory alignment, youth protections, and incentives for lawful entertainment. The TOS should start by expressly and unambiguously forbidding underage users. Stating age restrictions upfront right as users create accounts notifies potential violators against prohibited conduct. An external link to the specific applicable statutes further cements the notice should any violations occur. Secondly, the agreement should detail the verification requirements for creating accounts, logging in, and playing the games, including consent for third-party age checks. Users have a right to understand what personal data a site will collect and how sensitive information like IDs is secured. Outlining compliance internally and via partners provides transparency. Crucially, the TOS must note that verification occurs both at account creation and periodically thereafter, enabling the site
to suspend players engaging in suspicious activities and block users ─ even mid-session ─ until additional age checks can be completed. Additionally, the terms should discuss geolocation-based access policies per local gambling regulations. Explaining compliance with laws inhibiting certain regions reduces liability in prohibited situations while demonstrating sound governance standards. Overall, precise and explicit TOS guides behavior, sets consumer expectations, and protects the site from liability in cases of noncompliance. Closing the gateway The last decade has witnessed the birth of a revolution in video game monetization. From subscription and freemium models to battle passes to in-game advertising and product placement, game developers and platforms give gamers multiple options beyond buy-install-play. One of the fastest-growing and most controversial moneymaking schemes introduces loot boxes, gacha mechanics, 4 and other microtransactions. These systems share a common trait: players spend real money for a chance to obtain virtual items or rewards that enhance gameplay. With the outcome being determined by a random number generator, they introduce an element of chance and randomness to the game experience. It is a dynamic that closely mirrors the mechanics of traditional gambling activities, such as slot machines or scratch-off lottery tickets. The thrill of anticipation, the rush of winning, and the potential for chasing losses are all present, creating an environment that can be highly addictive for impressionable young minds. According to some activists, this development demonstrates the need to extend age verification beyond real-money games to those that mimic their mechanics and appeal. Research has shown that exposure to gambling-like mechanics in video games can lead to an increased risk of developing gambling problems later in life. Children and adolescents, whose
4 https://machinations.io/articles/an-in-depth-look-at-gacha-boxes
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2024
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