# Loot box

> The general term regulators use for purchasable randomized rewards in games. Gacha is legally a loot box mechanic in every jurisdiction that has ruled on it, which is why loot box law is gacha law.

- Canonical URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/loot-box
- Type: term
- Verification status: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09)
- Last updated: 2026-07-09
- License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Attribution: "Loot box", GachaWiki, https://gachawiki.com/wiki/loot-box

Loot box is the umbrella term, used by regulators and researchers, for any purchasable in-game container or draw whose contents are randomized. The Belgian Gaming Commission's 2018 report, the study that shaped European policy, defined the category broadly enough to cover card packs, prize crates, and character banners alike. [[1]](#ref-1)

[Gacha](/wiki/gacha) is a loot box mechanic under every regulatory framework that has examined it. The distinction players draw between the two is cultural and structural (gacha pools are character-driven, banner-scheduled, and central to progression, while Western loot boxes have more often been cosmetic add-ons), but no jurisdiction distinguishes them legally. When Belgium ruled paid loot boxes to be games of chance, gacha games withdrew from the country alongside FIFA packs; when the US FTC acted on loot box marketing in 2025, the target was a gacha game. [[1]](#ref-1) [[3]](#ref-3)

The word matters mostly for research: the legal, academic, and policy literature indexes under "loot box", not "gacha". The UK's call for evidence, the largest English-language policy review of the mechanic, uses the term throughout while explicitly covering randomized character acquisition. [[2]](#ref-2)

For the jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction picture, see [gacha regulation by country](/wiki/gacha-regulation). For the disclosure rules that loot box laws increasingly require, see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure).

## References

1. Research report on loot boxes (April 2018) (Belgian Gaming Commission): https://www.gamingcommission.be/sites/default/files/2021-08/onderzoeksrapport-loot-boxen-Engels-publicatie.pdf (accessed 2026-07-09)
2. Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes (July 2022) (UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/loot-boxes-in-video-games-call-for-evidence (accessed 2026-07-09)
3. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer (January 17, 2025) (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental (accessed 2026-07-09)