How is the gaming industry regulated in the US?
People love gambling online and finding promo codes on sites such as all-bonus-codes.co.uk and every state in the US has its own rules and regulations concerning this. But did you know that all kinds of games need to be regulated, not just casino games? There are some important restrictions on what age groups can play certain types of games and how these titles are rated by their publishers. The question of whether violent video games should be banned is an ongoing debate in American politics and culture; although some states have tried to regulate these games for minors, none have so far succeeded at making any kind of ban stick…
A number of states have their own laws regulating games
In addition to federal regulation of the gaming industry, a number of states have their own laws regulating games. State laws are often more strict than federal law and therefore require closer attention from developers and publishers. While some states regulate games as part of their efforts to combat gambling addiction, others focus on protecting children from violence or attempting to prevent criminal activity such as money laundering.
The ESRB is a voluntary rating system that assigns age and content ratings to games, but retailers can decide whether to enforce them
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a non-profit organisation that determines and enforces age-based content ratings on games. The ratings are voluntary and don’t carry any legal authority over whether or not the store sells you a game. However, most stores will refuse to sell games with an M (for Mature) rating to anyone under 17 years old, which is often seen as being the minimum age for playing violent video games responsibly.
The ESRB’s ratings are not always accurate, as they were criticised by parents and psychologists alike when they decided that 2011’s Mortal Kombat was suitable for children due to its cartoonish violence while 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 earned an M rating because it allowed players to shoot enemies in the head with sniper rifles from long distances.
The government has attempted to ban some violent video games on the grounds that they are obscene
The government has attempted to ban some violent video games on the grounds that they are obscene. However, in 2011, in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, the Supreme Court ruled that violent video games are protected speech under the First Amendment.
The government also sometimes attempts to ban violent video games on the grounds that they are harmful to children; but this has not yet been successful either.
People under 18 cannot play certain kinds of lottery or bingo games in commercial venues in certain localities
There are differences in how gambling is regulated in each state. For example, some states have laws that prohibit minors from playing certain types of lottery and bingo games, whereas other states allow this to occur. Some states have no laws on the subject at all and leave it up to individual venues to decide whether they will allow children to play these games.