Are your game monetisation techniques going to remain legal?

Legal There has been a lot of activity recently from EU and UK legislators with each seeking to outdo the other with new laws being introduced at every turn. There is also increasing regulatory activity and enforcement relevant for the games industry, with consumer regulators building capabilities through investment into technology and staff. It doesn’t look like all this activity is going to slow down either, with potentially even more legal changes on the horizon and regulators gearing up to get even more involved. A shake up in monetisation techniques might be needed to mitigate new risks from consumer law regulations EU and UK consumer legislators are focused on the digital world, with the games industry at the forefront of the minds of regulators. Game developers and publishers should take stock of the position and react to make sure their monetisation techniques are compliant – or are likely to remain so with the upcoming changes. In particular, regulators are being given new powers, fines are increasing hugely, and regulators are looking closely at subscription models and so-called ‘dark patterns’ in user interfaces. A shake up in monetisation techniques might be needed to mitigate new risks from consumer law regulations, but there will also be opportunities for some companies to lead the way in shaping what best practices look like, winning player trust and loyalty along the way. It’s not just publishers based in the UK that need to worry either: as with GDPR, the consumer rules will apply to protect players in the UK and EU, wherever the relevant publisher of the game might be located. So, what’s new and what do you need to look out for? What consumer laws are new in the UK? What’s new in the EU? What more regulation is on the way in the UK and EU? Key issues to review for your monetisation techniques What consumer laws are new in the UK? UK legislators have been slower than their EU counterparts in introducing new legislation in the consumer space. This might be because UK consumer laws are already fairly broad, and with regulator guidance, can flex fairly quickly to fit the evolving online world. For example, existing laws prohibit unfair or misleading practices which gives the Competition and Markets Authority a wide remit in determining what practices might be problematic. But after a number of studies, impact assessments, and consultations, the UK government has seen fit to introduce the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill to Parliament. The Bill was published on 25 April 2023 and introduced some radical new digital sector regulation to existing competition and consumer regulation – in particular, it will replace current UK consumer laws that control unfair practices. The Bill is currently only draft legislation and not yet an Act in law; as such, it is still subject to change, but it seems likely to be passed into law in substantially the current form within the next year. From a consumer law and games industry perspective, the key points
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