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Hawaiian state to investigate Battlefront II and others

"This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids", says Democrat Chris Lee.

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The dust has yet to settle following the tremendous backlash suffered by EA as a result of the lootboxes and microtransactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II. It seems it has caught the attention of politicians in the US as well as in Europe, and the Hawaiian House of Representatives is now looking to act on "predatory practices" of EA and other companies.

In a statement to the press Chris Lee, a Hawaiian politician and Chairman of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, didn't mince words as he called for legislation to protect children from these practices.


"This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money; it's a trap. This is something we need to address to ensure that particularly kids who are underage, who are not psychologically and emotionally mature enough to be able to gamble - which is why gambling is prohibited under 21 - are protected from being trapped into these cycles which have compelled many folks to spend thousands of dollars in gaming fees online."

You can check out the statement made on Youtube.

Another representative, Sean Quinlan, compared this to the state not allowing Joe Camel to promote smoking for kids, and said we shouldn't allow Star Wars to promote gambling.

Maybe it took something as public as this for the political sphere to begin to take notice of what is certainly a concern, not just to gamers looking to enjoy their games without being constantly asked to spend money, but also to kids growing up with these sort of gambling practices regarded as completely normal.

While it is a bit troubling that these politicians don't regard the dangers of these practices in mobile games as equally severe, it is interesting that efforts are now being made to protect consumers and children in particular.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

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