There's a debate raging in video games over whether loot boxes should be classified as gambling

Get the Full StoryThere's a debate raging over whether in-game loot boxes encourage kids to gamble.

In the UK, the House of Lords this week recommended the legal reclassification of loot boxes in video games as gambling.

Loot boxes are a mechanic where a player pays either with in-game currency or real money for a randomized in-game item. These items can sometimes be traded amongst players for real money as well.

Experts are divided over whether paying for loot boxes has a causal link to gambling and one told Business Insider it could be "apocalyptically stupid" to regulate loot boxes like gambling without doing more research.

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The video game industry might have a fight on its hands as the UK looks poised to reclassify a popular game mechanic as gambling.

On Thursday the House of Lords published a report on the harms of gambling, which found that in the UK there are 55,000 problem gamblers aged between 11 and 15.See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequenceSee Also:Amazon launched a major game in May, and it flopped now the company is pulling the game from stores and putting it back in 'closed beta'Amazon's Twitch just suspended Trump's channel for violating 'hateful conduct' policies and cited his campaign speeches as the reasonFollowing sexual assault allegations, EA is cutting ties with the acclaimed video game writer who worked on the latest 'Star Wars' game

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