Following several governmental inquiries into whether gaming loot boxes constitute gambling, a Washington State Senator is now pushing for a new bill to regulate their use.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that the Democratic state senator for Orcas Island, Kevin Ranker, has stated that, "it is unacceptable to be targeting our children with predatory gambling masked in a game with dancing bunnies or something."

Dancing bunny boxes aside - something I think we'd all pay good money for - Ranker has introduced a bill that proposes to define whether or not loot boxes and related mechanics in games constitute gambling.

The bill sets out to address a few major areas for consideration. Namely whether loot box mechanics in games and apps constitute gambling under the state's law; whether such things should be present in apps and games; and whether or not minors should have access to games and apps that contain loot boxes and related features.

Perhaps most importantly, it will also encompass the "lack of disclosure and transparency with respect to the odds of receiving each type of virtual item."

New Zealand's gambling regulator has already weighed in on this issue, determining that loot boxes are not gambling. Conversely, Belgium's Gaming Commission is aiming to ban them in Europe.

Meanwhile a Hawaii State Representative wants to limit the sale of games with loot boxes after Star Wars Battlefront 2 caused considerable controversy with its 'pay-to-win' approach in a $60 game.

Ranker wants to see games and apps containing such microtransactions disclose the odds of rare items dropping before consumers hand over their cash, similar to Apple's revised guidelines for iOS developers.

"If [parents] realised how predatory these game are then they wouldn't want them under their Christmas tree, they wouldn't want them going to their kids," Ranker said.

The deadline for a decision on the bill is December 1, 2018.

Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter.