Abstract
With the introduction of gambling-like features within video games (e.g., loot boxes) new forms of hybrid-gambling products have emerged, yet little is known about their relationship to gambling and problem gambling among those most likely to engage: young people. This article examines the relationship between the purchase of loot boxes, gambling behavior, and problem gambling among young people ages 16–24. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from wave 1 of the Emerging Adults Gambling Survey, an online survey of 3,549 people, aged 16–24. Data were weighted to reflect the age, sex, and regional profile of Great Britain. Measured included past-year purchase of loot boxes, engagement in 17 different forms of gambling (weekly, yearly, and weekly spend); and problem gambling status. Other covariates include impulsivity and sociodemographic status. Young adults who purchase loot boxes are more likely to be gamblers and experience problem gambling than others. In unadjusted regression models, the odds of problem gambling were 11.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.6 to 16.9; p < 0.001) times higher among those who purchased loot boxes with their own money. This relationship attenuated but remained significant (odds ratio 4.5, 95% CI 2.6–7.9) when gambling participation, impulsivity, and sociodemographic factors were taken into account. The purchase of loot boxes was highly associated with problem gambling, the strength of this association being of similar magnitude to gambling online on casino games or slots. Young adults purchasing loot boxes within video games should be considered a high-risk group for the experience of gambling problems.
Highlights
Recent years have seen an emerging trend of gamblinglike features being embedded in different contexts.[1]
Interviews were conducted with 3,549 young people aged 16–24, of whom 42.5 percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.9–44.1) had gambled on any activity in the past year, 3.7 percent experienced problem gambling and 12.1 percent had purchased loot boxes in the past year
Loot box purchasers were more likely to have gambled on any form of gambling in the past year (62.8 percent [95% CI: 58.2–67.4] versus 39.7 percent [95% CI: 38.0– 41.4]; p < 0.01), to have spent more money on gambling in the past week and were more likely to experience problem gambling than those who had not (16.9 percent [95% CI: 13.3–20.5] versus 1.8 percent [95% CI: 1.3–2.3]; p < 0.01)
Summary
Recent years have seen an emerging trend of gamblinglike features being embedded in different contexts.[1] This is especially so within video games and is, arguably, best exemplified by the growth of loot boxes within video games.[2,3] Loot boxes are items that may be bought for realworld money, but which contain randomized contents whose value is uncertain at the point of purchase.[4] They are a popular form of microtransaction included within video games to obtain money from players, upon which game developers are increasingly reliant as a revenue stream. Recent research has suggested that the majority of top-grossing mobile games on both Apple and Android devices contain loot boxes.[4]. A recent analysis of the desktop gaming platform Steam investigated the proportion of desktop play sessions that take place in games with loot boxes. It has suggested that more than 70 percent of desktop play sessions take place in a game that is monetized through loot boxes.[5]
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