The lines between video games and gambling have blurred over the past decade. The most prominent example of this overlap is loot boxes: items or rewards in video games that are paid for with real-world money but contain randomised contents whose value is unclear at the time of purchase.
The chance-based nature of loot boxes has drawn concern over parallels with gambling. Academics have speculated that buying loot boxes might provide a gateway to the development of problem gambling.
Various governmental and regulatory bodies have signalled concern over this issue (eg, an ongoing Select Committee inquiry in the UK, an Australian Senate inquiry on the topic, and a public investigation of loot boxes by the US Federal Trade Commission). Studies
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have shown that the more money gamers spend on loot boxes, the more severe their problem gambling is. Concerningly, this link appears stronger in adolescent populations than in adult populations.
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In the UK, a clear demarcation between gambling and gaming activities has been used by clinicians to determine where patients should be treated if compulsive behaviours emerged. The concept of loot boxes as primers for gambling is an issue that is taxing the clinical field at present.
Knowing that young people are more likely than other age groups to exhibit impulsive behaviours and to find risk-taking appealing makes the prevalence of loot boxes in games popular with teenagers particularly concerning.
Video games have changed. Specific games now share key links with gambling. Clinicians who are presented with patients that play games must now not only understand the quantity of gameplay that is occurring. They must also understand the individual nature of the games that are being played. If they do not, they might be unaware of a clinically relevant aspect of their patients’ lives.
Furthermore, to protect a growing population from spending money they do not yet earn, we as a society must ensure that players, politicians, physicians, and policy makers understand the potential harms of what has become a lucrative addition to the gaming market.
We declare no competing interests.
References
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Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase.
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The prevalence of loot boxes in mobile and desktop games.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published: September 2019
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© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
