Gamification, exploitation, and child vulnerability the regulation of loot boxes and the challenge of civil liability under the 'Digital ECA'

Abstract

The enactment of the Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents – Law No. 15.211/2025 (also referred to as the “Digital ECA”) marks the most significant regulatory transformation in Brazil concerning child protection in the digital environment since the original Statute of Children and Adolescents. Among the many points of tension introduced by this new framework, few are as emblematic and timely as the debate surrounding the prohibition of loot boxes, which are randomized reward mechanisms widely used in electronic games, including those accessed daily by children and adolescents. In a context of increasing gamification of digital life, it is urgent to confront the legal challenge of properly classifying these practices: are they merely entertainment? Legitimate microtransactions? Or do they, in essence, constitute mechanisms of child behavioral exploitation that demand their own legal classification?