According to the German news website ButenunBinnen, the ruling coalition composed of the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party of the Hanseatic Free State of Bremen in Germany is pushing for legislation to completely ban game loot boxes. This legislation will be discussed nationwide.
The alliance proposed a number of restrictions around the inclusion of loot boxes in the game at the Bremen state parliament, including banning them outright.
The Christian Democratic Alliance objected to this, but according to Leon Y. Xiao, a researcher and legal expert who specializes in game loot box regulations, reported through Mastodon social media, their motion was rejected, and the motion to completely ban game loot boxes in the country was passed.
On a minor note, during this debate, the Bremen state parliament asked the state senate to promote the coalition's proposals at the federal, national level, which means that it "has not yet produced practical results."
The only changes Germany has made to loot boxes so far are requiring games to declare their inclusion on physical packaging, and for local ratings agency USK to incorporate this into the age rating criteria.
The coalition’s motion advocates banning loot boxes, social casino games, premium currencies, and even live streaming of games with loot boxes. Meanwhile, the CDU's opposition motion calls for identity verification before in-game purchases, for prices to be displayed in euros (rather than virtual currency), as well as requiring players to set monthly spending limits and warn them of the risks during the registration process before they can play the game, among many other things.
Even as opposed to an outright ban, the CDU has recommended an outright ban on users under 10 years old purchasing/using loot box features (including free loot boxes), and a ban on advertising loot boxes to users under 18 (although it's unclear whether this includes advertising for games that offer loot boxes).
Xiao also pointed out some errors in the league's proposal, such as their claim that Belgium and the Netherlands have already banned gaming loot boxes, which is not the case. Belgian gambling laws are broad enough that they may even include loot boxes, so many gaming companies remove them from games early as a precaution, but gambling laws against loot boxes are not enforced. In the Netherlands, there were proposals to ban loot boxes, but the Supreme Administrative Court declared these cannot be regulated under gambling laws, so further proposals are still in the works.