II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1629 

To regulate certain pay-to-win microtransactions and sales of loot boxes 

in interactive digital entertainment products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 

Mr. HAWLEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To regulate certain pay-to-win microtransactions and sales 

of loot boxes in interactive digital entertainment products, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REGULATION OF PAY-TO-WIN MICROTRANS4 ACTIONS AND SALES OF LOOT BOXES IN 

5 VIDEO GAMES. 

6 (a) PROHIBITION OF PAY-TO-WIN MICROTRANS7 ACTIONS AND SALES OF LOOT BOXES IN MINOR-ORI8 ENTED GAMES.— 


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1 (1) GAME PUBLISHERS.—It is unlawful for a 

2 game publisher to publish— 

3 (A) a minor-oriented game that includes 

4 pay-to-win microtransactions or loot boxes; or 

5 (B) an update to an existing minor-ori6 ented game that would enable pay-to-win micro7 transactions or loot boxes in such game. 

8 (2) DIGITAL GAME DISTRIBUTORS.—It is un9 lawful for a digital game distributor to distribute— 

10 (A) a minor-oriented game that includes 

11 pay-to-win microtransactions or loot boxes; or 

12 (B) an update to an existing minor-ori13 ented game that would enable pay-to-win micro14 transactions or loot boxes in such game. 

15 (b) PROHIBITION ON PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBU16 TION OF VIDEO GAMES CONTAINING PAY-TO-WIN MICRO17 TRANSACTIONS OR PURCHASING LOOT BOXES WHERE

18 THE PUBLISHER OR DISTRIBUTOR HAS CONSTRUCTIVE

19 KNOWLEDGE THAT ANY USERS ARE UNDER AGE 18.— 

20 (1) GAME PUBLISHERS.—It is unlawful for a 

21 game publisher to publish an interactive digital en22 tertainment product that is not a minor-oriented 

23 game (or an update to such a product) if— 

24 (A) such product or update contains pay25 to-win microtransactions or loot boxes; and 


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1 (B) the publisher has constructive knowl2 edge that any of its users are under the age of 

3 18. 

4 (2) DIGITAL GAME DISTRIBUTORS.—It is un5 lawful for a digital game distributor to distribute an 

6 interactive digital entertainment product that is not 

7 a minor-oriented game (or an update to such a prod8 uct) if— 

9 (A) such product or update contains pay10 to-win microtransactions or loot boxes; and 

11 (B) the distributor has constructive knowl12 edge that any of its users are under the age of 

13 18. 

14 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

17 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

18 (2) INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT

19 PRODUCT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘interactive 

21 digital entertainment product’’ means a pro22 gram such as a video game that is accessed by 

23 a connected device and provides an interactive 

24 entertainment experience for the user. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSION.—Such term shall not in2 clude a program if— 

3 (i) a user’s interaction with the pro4 gram is limited to selecting options from a 

5 menu of choices; and 

6 (ii) the program would not be consid7 ered a game by a reasonable user. 

8 (3) DIGITAL GAME DISTRIBUTOR.—The term 

9 ‘‘digital game distributor’’ means a person that, for 

10 commercial purposes, in interstate or foreign com11 merce, distributes an interactive digital entertain12 ment product over an online platform to over 1,000 

13 users annually. 

14 (4) GAME PUBLISHER.—The term ‘‘game pub15 lisher’’ means a person that, for commercial pur16 poses, in interstate or foreign commerce, develops or 

17 finances the development of an interactive digital en18 tertainment product that is distributed to over 1,000 

19 users annually. 

20 (5) MINOR-ORIENTED GAME.—The term 

21 ‘‘minor-oriented video game’’ means an interactive 

22 digital entertainment product for which the target 

23 audience is individuals under the age of 18, as may 

24 be demonstrated by— 

25 (A) the subject matter of the product; 


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1 (B) the visual content of the product; 

2 (C) the music or audio content of the prod3 uct; 

4 (D) the use of animated characters or ac5 tivities that appeal to individuals under the age 

6 of 18; 

7 (E) the age of the characters or models in 

8 the product; 

9 (F) the presence in the product of— 

10 (i) celebrities who are under the age 

11 of 18; or 

12 (ii) celebrities who appeal to individ13 uals under the age of 18; 

14 (G) the language used in the product; 

15 (H) the content of materials used to adver16 tise the product and the platforms on which 

17 such materials appear; 

18 (I) the content of any advertising materials 

19 that appear in the product; 

20 (J) other reliable empirical evidence relat21 ing to— 

22 (i) the composition of the audience of 

23 the product; or 


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1 (ii) the audience of the product, as in2 tended by the publisher or distributor of 

3 the product; or 

4 (K) other evidence demonstrating that the 

5 product is targeted at individuals under the age 

6 of 18. 

7 (6) ADD-ON TRANSACTION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘add-on 

9 transaction’’ means, with respect to an inter10 active digital entertainment product, a payment 

11 to the game publisher of an interactive digital 

12 entertainment product, an affiliate of the pub13 lisher, or any other person who accepts such 

14 payment for the benefit of the publisher, of ei15 ther money or an in-game proxy for money, 

16 such as a virtual currency, that can be pur17 chased with money, that— 

18 (i) unlocks a feature of the product; 

19 or 

20 (ii) adds to or enhances the entertain21 ment value of the product. 

22 (B) EXCLUSION.—Such a term shall not 

23 include a payment (including a payment of a 

24 regular subscription fee) which is made only to 

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1 active digital entertainment product, provided 

2 that users do not have the option to pay dif3 ferent amounts to access the same content in 

4 order to unlock a feature of the product or to 

5 enhance the entertainment value of the product. 

6 (7) PAY-TO-WIN MICROTRANSACTION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘pay-to-win 

8 microtransaction’’ means an add-on transaction 

9 to a interactive digital entertainment product 

10 that— 

11 (i) with respect to an interactive dig12 ital entertainment product that, from the 

13 perspective of a reasonable user of the 

14 product, is a game offering a scoring sys15 tem, a set of goals to achieve, a set of re16 wards, or a sense of interactive progression 

17 through the product’s content including 

18 but not limited to narrative progression— 

19 (I) eases a user’s progression 

20 through content otherwise available 

21 within the game without the purchase 

22 of such transaction; 

23 (II) assists a user in accom24 plishing an achievement within the 

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1 plished without the purchase of such 

2 transaction; 

3 (III) assists a user in receiving 

4 an award associated with the game 

5 that is otherwise available in associa6 tion with the game without the pur7 chase of such transaction; or 

8 (IV) permits a user to continue 

9 to access content of the game that 

10 had previously been accessible to the 

11 user but has been made inaccessible 

12 after the expiration of a timer or a 

13 number of gameplay attempts; or 

14 (ii) with respect to an interactive dig15 ital entertainment product that, from the 

16 perspective of a reasonable user of the 

17 product, is a game featuring competition 

18 with other users, provides a user with a 

19 competitive advantage with respect to the 

20 game’s competitive aspects over users who 

21 do not make such a transaction. 

22 (B) EXCLUSIONS.— 

23 (i) DIFFICULTY MODES.—Such term 

24 shall not include an add-on transaction to 

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1 uct that provides the user with access to a 

2 new mode of play that makes progression 

3 through the content of the product more 

4 difficult than it would be without the 

5 transaction (as perceived by a reasonable 

6 user). 

7 (ii) COSMETIC ALTERATIONS.—Such 

8 term shall not include an add-on trans9 action to an interactive digital entertain10 ment product whose only effect is to alter 

11 a user’s visual representation within the 

12 game provided that it does not, from the 

13 perspective of a reasonable user, provide 

14 the user with a competitive advantage over 

15 other users who do not make such trans16 action. 

17 (iii) ADDITIONAL GAME CONTENT.— 

18 Such term shall not include an add-on 

19 transaction to an interactive digital enter20 tainment product that adds new content to 

21 the product provided that the add-on 

22 transaction can be purchased only once by 

23 a user and the perceived value offered by 

24 such transaction, from the perspective of a 

25 reasonable user, is not that it— 


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1 (I) eases a user’s progression 

2 through content otherwise available 

3 within the product without the pur4 chase of such transaction; 

5 (II) assists a user in accom6 plishing an achievement within the 

7 product that can otherwise be accom8 plished without the purchase of such 

9 transaction; 

10 (III) assists a user in receiving 

11 an award associated with the product 

12 that is otherwise available in associa13 tion with the product without the pur14 chase of such transaction; 

15 (IV) permits a user to continue 

16 to access content of the product that 

17 had previously been accessible to the 

18 user but is made inaccessible after the 

19 expiration of a timer or a number of 

20 gameplay attempts; or 

21 (V) provides a competitive advan22 tage over other users with respect to 

23 a product’s competitive aspects. 


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1 (8) LOOT BOX.—The term ‘‘loot box’’ means an 

2 add-on transaction to an interactive digital enter3 tainment product that— 

4 (A) in a randomized or partially random5 ized fashion— 

6 (i) unlocks a feature of the product; 

7 or 

8 (ii) adds to or enhances the entertain9 ment value of the product; or 

10 (B) allows the user to make 1 or more ad11 ditional add-on transactions— 

12 (i) that the user could not have made 

13 without making the first add-on trans14 action; and 

15 (ii) the content of which is unknown 

16 to the user until after the user has made 

17 the first add-on transaction. 

18 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICABILITY. 

19 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro21 vided, this Act shall be enforced by the Commission 

22 under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

24 (2) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC25 TICES.—A violation of this Act shall be treated as 


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1 a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive 

2 act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) 

3 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

5 (3) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subsection (c)(1), the Commission shall prevent 

8 any person from violating this Act in the same 

9 manner, by the same means, and with the same 

10 jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 

11 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal 

12 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 

13 were incorporated into and made a part of this 

14 Act, and any person who violates this Act shall 

15 be subject to the penalties and entitled to the 

16 privileges and immunities provided in the Fed17 eral Trade Commission Act. 

18 (B) VIOLATIONS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—In an action 

20 brought by the Commission to enforce this 

21 Act, each pay-to-win microtransaction or 

22 loot box sold to a user who is under the 

23 age of 18 through an interactive digital en24 tertainment product that does not meet a 


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1 requirement of this Act shall be treated as 

2 a separate violation. 

3 (ii) CIVIL PENALTY.—Notwith4 standing section 5(m) of the Federal Trade 

5 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m)), a civil 

6 penalty recovered for a violation of this Act 

7 may be in excess of the amounts provided 

8 for in that section as the court finds ap9 propriate to deter violations of this Act. 

10 (iii) FIRST VIOLATIONS.—In an action 

11 brought by the Commission to enforce this 

12 Act, the Commission may seek a civil pen13 alty for any violation of this Act, including 

14 any violation that is the first violation of 

15 this Act that a person against whom the 

16 action is brought has committed. 

17 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN18 ERAL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in which 

21 the attorney general of a State has reason to 

22 believe that an interest of the residents of that 

23 State has been or is threatened or adversely af24 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

25 practice that violates this Act, the State, as 


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1 parens patriae, may bring a civil action on be2 half of the residents of the State in an appro3 priate State court to— 

4 (i) enjoin that practice; 

5 (ii) enforce compliance with this Act; 

6 (iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 

7 other compensation on behalf of residents 

8 of the State; or 

9 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

10 court may consider to be appropriate. 

11 (B) NOTICE.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac13 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 

14 general of the State involved shall provide 

15 to the Commission— 

16 (I) written notice of that action; 

17 and 

18 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

19 that action. 

20 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 

21 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

22 shall not apply with respect to the fil23 ing of an action by an attorney gen24 eral of a State under this paragraph 

25 if the attorney general of the State 


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1 determines that it is not feasible to 

2 provide the notice described in that 

3 clause before the filing of the action. 

4 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac5 tion described in subclause (I), the at6 torney general of a State shall provide 

7 notice and a copy of the complaint to 

8 the Commission at the same time as 

9 the attorney general files the action. 

10 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

12 under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall 

13 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

14 the subject of the notice. 

15 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

16 Commission intervenes in an action under para17 graph (1), it shall have the right— 

18 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

19 matter that arises in that action; and 

20 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 

21 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

22 any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this 

23 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen24 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 


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1 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 

2 to— 

3 (A) conduct investigations; 

4 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

5 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

6 the production of documentary and other evi7 dence. 

8 (4) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—In any 

9 case in which an action is instituted by or on behalf 

10 of the Commission for violation of this Act, no State 

11 may, during the pendency of that action, institute an 

12 action under paragraph (1) against any defendant 

13 named in the complaint in the action instituted by 

14 or on behalf of the Commission for that violation. 

15 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

16 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

17 paragraph (1) may be brought in any State 

18 court of competent jurisdiction. 

19 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

20 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

21 served wherever the defendant— 

22 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

23 (ii) may be found. 


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1 SEC. 4. STUDY OF COMPLIANCE. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Commission shall submit to each com4 mittee of Congress with jurisdiction over the Commission 

5 a report on— 

6 (1) the actions taken by game publishers and 

7 digital game distributors to comply with this Act; 

8 and 

9 (2) other Federal or State laws relating to pay10 to-win microtransactions and loot boxes. 

11 SEC. 5. STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF PAY-TO-WIN MICRO12 TRANSACTIONS AND LOOT BOXES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub15 mit to each committee of Congress with jurisdiction over 

16 the Commission a report on the use of add-on content, 

17 including pay-to-win microtransactions, loot boxes, and 

18 other kinds of add-on transactions in the design of inter19 active digital entertainment products for audiences of all 

20 ages. 

21 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report required 

22 under subsection (a) shall— 

23 (1) analyze the use of pay-to-win microtrans24 action and loot box design practices in specific inter25 active digital entertainment products; 


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1 (2) analyze the psychological effects of pay-to2 win microtransactions and loot boxes on users; 

3 (3) study game development practices relating 

4 to pay-to-win microtransactions and loot boxes, in5 cluding A/B testing of various pay-to-win micro6 transaction or loot box designs; 

7 (4) analyze the effects of pay-to-win microtrans8 actions and loot boxes on investment and production 

9 in the digital entertainment industry; 

10 (5) document different types of pay-to-win 

11 microtransactions and loot boxes found in interactive 

12 digital entertainment products; and 

13 (6) analyze whether other forms of add-on 

14 transactions to interactive digital entertainment 

15 products, such as those altering a user’s visual rep16 resentation within a product, can induce compulsive 

17 purchasing behavior by minors. 

18 (c) USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH.—The Com19 mission may conduct or commission psychological research 

20 on users of interactive digital entertainment products to 

21 inform the report required under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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