Are loot boxes legal in the UK? The rules in plain English

This guide explains the rules as published by the government, the games industry and PEGI. It isn't legal advice.

Short answer: yes, loot boxes are legal to sell in the UK. The government looked at whether to bring them under the same law as other games of chance played for money, and decided not to, at least for now. Instead, the games industry agreed its own rules in 2023, and PEGI labels games that sell them.

A loot box is anything you pay for, directly or with a premium currency, without knowing exactly what's inside: crates, packs, chests and gacha pulls all count. PEGI calls them paid random items.

What the government decided in 2022

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) ran a call for evidence from September to November 2020. More than 32,000 players answered its survey, and it had 50 written submissions from academics, industry and charities. It published its response on 17 July 2022.

Its main findings, in plain terms:

• Research shows a link between buying loot boxes and harms, but not that loot boxes cause them.
• Most loot boxes aren't covered by the UK's 2005 law on games of chance played for money, because what you win normally has no cash value outside the game.
• Changing that law would be complicated and could catch other things that use random rewards, so it would be premature to legislate before industry measures had been tried.

What it asked the games industry to do:

• Make sure children and young people can't buy loot boxes unless a parent or guardian turns that on.
• Rely less on players simply stating their age.
• Give every player, adults included, spending controls, and make sure they know about them.
• Give players and parents clear, balanced information.
• Protect the small number of players who spend heavily.
• Join a technical working group, run by DCMS, to agree the details.

The government said it would keep its position under review and would consider changing the law if the industry didn't make enough progress.

The industry's 11 principles (2023)

On 18 July 2023, Ukie, the UK games industry body, published 11 principles agreed by that working group. In short, companies that sign up commit to:

1. Controls that stop anyone under 18 getting a loot box without a parent's consent or knowledge.
2. Campaigns to make players and parents aware of those controls, starting with a £1 million, three-year public information campaign.
3. An expert panel on checking players' ages.
4. Saying a game has loot boxes before you buy or download it.
5. Clear, easy-to-find odds for the items in a loot box before you open it, and telling players if their data is used to shape what they're offered.
6. Designing loot boxes so they're easy to understand.
7. Supporting the Video Games Research Framework.
8. Tackling the sale of loot box items for real money outside the game.
9. Generous refunds when a child spent money without a parent's consent or knowledge.
10. Information for all players on managing their spending.
11. Reviewing how well the principles work with the government after 12 months.

These are industry commitments, not laws. They apply to the companies that agreed them.

What PEGI labels tell you

PEGI puts In-Game Purchases on any game that sells extras for real money, and adds (includes paid random items) when some of those purchases are random. Since June 2026 that also affects the rating: PEGI's labels page says games with paid random items submitted to PEGI since then are PEGI 16, and PEGI 18 for games that simulate games of chance. Its March 2026 announcement calls PEGI 16 the default, "and in some cases they can be a PEGI 18".

That started with newly submitted games, and PEGI has since been updating existing titles. Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves and League of Legends have gone from PEGI 12 to PEGI 16, with a note on pegi.info that the rating "has been updated to PEGI 16 because it includes loot boxes or other paid random items". Naraka: Bladepoint and the free-to-play version of Overwatch are PEGI 16 too, as are Guild Wars 2's last three expansions. Not every title has been updated yet: SYNDUALITY: Echo of Ada has the paid random items descriptor but still shows PEGI 12. So some games with loot boxes still show PEGI 12; check a game's current entry on pegi.info. Our article on what PEGI's paid random items label means covers the change and the other new criteria, and our guide to PEGI ratings explains every label and lists the games we track by rating.

What this means for players and parents

• Check the label. "Paid random items" on the PEGI label means the game sells loot boxes or something like them.
• Use the controls. Consoles, PC stores and phones all have spending limits and purchase approval for children's accounts. PEGI says every platform that uses its ratings has parental tools that can limit spending, online interaction and playtime.
• Look for the odds. Many publishers now show them in the game or on their website. Our drop-rate index collects the ones published on the web, and what a rare drop costs on average shows how to turn odds into pounds.
• Ask for a refund if a child spent money without permission: the industry principles commit companies to lenient refunds in that case.

How we checked

We read the DCMS response and Ukie's announcement of the principles on 21 October 2026. pegi.info was down for maintenance that day, so PEGI's label rules first came from the Internet Archive's copy of its "What do the labels mean?" page from 3 October 2026. On 7 November 2026 we read the live labels page and PEGI's 12 March 2026 announcement in a browser (pegi.info blocks automated requests), along with its rating search for the re-rated games, and updated the PEGI section from them. We'll update this guide if the government changes its position.