Loot is a controversial feature of many video games, both for console and mobile.
When a player buys a loot box, he finds out what's inside only after paying.
It may contain a valuable digital prize within the game, but likewise it may not contain anything useful.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wants to listen to the players, parents and guardians of young players. He is also interested in research done by academics and video game companies.
The deadline for
the submission of the views is on November 22nd.
Caroline Dinenage, Minister for Digital and Culture, said adding tools such as time limits, set via parental controls, was helpful.
"But we have listened to parental concerns about loot boxes and it is only fitting that we fully review and understand any evidence of the harm or links to problem gambling they may cause, so that we can decide if action is needed."
In Belgium, loot boxes that are to be purchased for real money, rather than earned through play, were banned in 2018.
The following year, Fortnite made its lootboxes transparent so that players knew in advance what they were buying.
Loots have divided opinions for a long time. For many players they are a little fun, a small investment that can have a big reward in terms of increasing their fun in the game.
But I've heard from dozens of parents, shocked that their kids have emptied their bank accounts by buying box after box, in hopes of getting that elusive piece of digital kit to help them level up, whether it's a the best virtual football player or killer weapon.
I've also heard from adults who find themselves in debt, unable to resist "just one more" attempt at that lucky digital decline.
In the UK, the House of Lords asked in July that loot boxes be classified as "games of chance" under the Gambling Act of 2005.
"If a product looks like gambling and it looks like gambling, it should be regulated as gambling," the report said.
However, so far it is not. The Gambling Commission says this is due to the fact that what's inside the boxes is neither cash nor has any actual monetary value.
But there are third-party sites where prizes can be bought and sold or wagered for money, even if it is prohibited by game publishers - this is known as skin betting.