Key Notes
- The leaked draft reportedly prohibits paid loot boxes, pay-to-win and pay-to-progress mechanics for minors, but has not become law.
- Virtual currencies would be disabled by default for minors unless a parent approves them, alongside clearer pricing and random-reward odds.
- The Commission is expected to present its proposal on November 11, after which Parliament and the Council would examine the text.
Paid loot boxes and purchases that give players a competitive advantage could become off-limits to minors in the European Union under a leaked draft of the Digital Fairness Act. The reported plans would reach beyond warnings on a store page, changing which spending features younger players can use.
PocketGamer.biz reports that the draft would prohibit paid loot boxes, pay-to-win and pay-to-progress mechanics for minors. It also describes parental approval for virtual currencies, clearer cash pricing and disclosure of the odds behind random rewards.
The Commission is expected to present its proposal on November 11. The leaked text is preliminary, and publication would begin a legislative process involving the European Parliament and Council. No new EU-wide ban has taken effect.
What Would Change for Younger Players
Loot boxes sell a chance at an item rather than a guaranteed selection. Pay-to-win purchases provide an advantage in play, while pay-to-progress purchases let players spend to move forward faster. Grouping those practices together would extend the reported restrictions beyond randomized packs to other ways games sell power or progression.
According to PocketGamer, the provisions sit within Articles 14 to 17 of the draft. Virtual currencies would be switched off by default for minors unless a parent approves them. That approval mechanism is distinct from the reported prohibitions on paid random rewards and paid advantages; it should not be read as a general parental override for every restriction.
For a family using an in-game shop, clearer real-money values would also remove some of the arithmetic between a currency bundle and an item’s price. A purchase labelled in gems or coins can otherwise require a separate conversion before its cash cost becomes apparent.
Store Design Is Also in the Frame
Euronews, which reviewed a draft, reports a wider blacklist of ten manipulative interface practices. Examples include repeated scarcity warnings during checkout, pre-selected extras and persistent requests to reverse a choice a customer has already made.
The outlet also describes controls allowing users to switch off features such as autoplay, unrelated notifications and streak rewards. For games built around regular return visits, those proposals could affect how publishers prompt players to come back as well as how they sell items.
Euronews says the draft would replace the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive with a regulation applying directly across the bloc. It reports potential fines of up to 6% of global turnover in relevant cases and an application period beginning 12 months after entry into force. Those remain provisions in a draft, rather than a confirmed compliance deadline.
The Commission’s public overview still describes the Act as under preparation. Its stated priorities include manipulative interfaces, addictive design, unfair personalization and stronger protection for vulnerable consumers, particularly minors. A spokesperson declined to comment on the leak when contacted by Euronews.
Existing Investigations Continue Separately
European authorities are already challenging in-game purchase practices under existing law. We previously covered the coordinated scrutiny of publishers including Supercell, Ubisoft, Playrix, King and Riot Games.
The Dutch consumer authority ACM explained that action in September, highlighting confusing currency conversions and bundles that leave players with unused balances. It has separately called for tighter rules on loot boxes and virtual currencies, especially in games played by minors.
Those investigations and the leaked legislation are different processes. The former test companies’ practices against current obligations; the latter could add new requirements after lawmakers agree a final text. For now, publishers and players are waiting to see which of the reported measures appear in the Commission’s formal proposal.
