Ready to play?’ – A children’s rights analysis of gambling-like elements in videogames

Korte beschrijving

Children increasingly engage in a changing videogame environment where the lines between videogames and gambling are increasingly blurred. This doctoral dissertation approaches so-called ‘gambling-like’ elements (such as lootboxes and social casino games) from a children’s rights perspective, focusing on the existing legal framework applicable to gambling-like elements and providing recommendations for future regulation. Studied legal domains include gambling regulation, consumer protection regulation, data protection regulation, platform regulation and videogame industry self-regulation. The research departs from insights provided by non-legal disciplines (for example psychology, media studies and behavioural economics) to evaluate whether children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled in the context of gambling-like elements in videogames.