Brazilian lawmakers have banned individuals under the age of eighteen from buying loot boxes as part of a new regulatory push.
The decision made by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will take effect in 2026, with a wider set of safeguards coming into force in March of that year.
The law is a legislation update that is a broad-scope effort to protect children and adolescents in the digital environment, according to Law 15211 (L15211).
L15211 is concrete in its definition of the harmful acts regarding gambling. The legislation states, “promotion and marketing of gambling, fixed-odds betting, lotteries, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, narcotics or products prohibited for sale to children and adolescents.”
Brazil bans under-18s buying loot boxes
The legal document (translated to English) covers multiple topics related to potential harm to young people and children under various headings.
These topics encompass social media, online environments, parental control mechanisms, monetization, and “reward boxes” (also known as loot boxes).
The latter headings relate to the threat that the South American nation’s lawmakers argue are “predatory” in nature and entice, promote, or expose those under the registered legal age of gambling or mechanisms similar to those of gambling.
With the new regulations coming into effect in March 2026, there have been updates to the safeguards for children and young people, alongside the potential for heavy penalties for breaching these new safeguards.
They revolve around any content that could, according to the document, be “predatory, unfair or misleading advertising practices or other practices known to cause financial harm to children and adolescents.”
New regulations and new penalties for breaching L15211
Any game that contains a loot box will have a mandatory 18+ rating, according to Article 20 of the law, with the bill clearly defining the term.
“Loot boxes, offered in electronic games aimed at children and adolescents or likely to be accessible by them, are prohibited, in accordance with the respective age rating.”
Penalties for breaking the regulations include a warning period of up to 30 days for the operator of the marketed or advertised product, software, or event. Each instance has a bracket from $2 to $200 per person impacted and a cap of R$50,000,000.00 or $9,382,300 per violation.
Brazil’s crackdown on loot boxes will be in concert with the updated legal statutes outlined in Article 16 of Law 14852, effective in 2024.
This covers that “In-game purchasing tools must guarantee, by default, the restriction of purchases and commercial transactions by children, when applicable, in order to guarantee the consent of those responsible.”
Featured image: Canva.
