Abstract
Loot boxes are items in video games that can be paid for with real-world money and contain randomised contents. In recent years, loot boxes have become increasingly common. There is concern in the research community that similarities between loot boxes and gambling may lead to increases in problem gambling amongst gamers. A large-scale survey of gamers (n = 7,422) found evidence for a link (η2 = 0.054) between the amount that gamers spent on loot boxes and the severity of their problem gambling. This link was stronger than a link between problem gambling and buying other in-game items with real-world money (η2 = 0.004), suggesting that the gambling-like features of loot boxes are specifically responsible for the observed relationship between problem gambling and spending on loot boxes. It is unclear from this study whether buying loot boxes acts as a gateway to problem gambling, or whether spending large amounts of money on loot boxes appeals more to problem gamblers. However, in either case these results suggest that there may be good reason to regulate loot boxes in games.
Highlights
Loot boxes are virtual items in video games that contain randomised contents but can be paid for with real-world money
There is concern in the academic community that similarities between loot boxes and gambling may lead to problem gambling amongst gamers
In [20], Drummond and Sauer analysed 22 games which featured loot boxes in order to determine if these games had characteristics of gambling that are necessary for such conditioning, and could form a gateway for gamers to become problem gamblers. Their analysis concluded that “in the way they encourage and sustain user engagement, loot-box systems share important structural and psychological similarities with gambling”. They recommended regulation of some specific forms of loot boxes in games, lest they create a “ripe breeding ground” for problem gambling amongst gamers
Summary
Loot boxes are virtual items in video games that contain randomised contents but can be paid for with real-world money. They are available for players to buy in popular games like Overwatch (40 million players [1]), Rocket League (40 million players [2]), and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Over 25 million players [3]). The widespread availability of loot boxes in modern video games has led to questions over whether they should be regulated as a form of gambling. As noted in [5], many of the characteristics of loot boxes are commonly associated with gambling. Both when gambling and when buying loot boxes, individuals stake money on the outcome of a future event, whose result is determined at least partially by chance in the hopes of receiving a valuable reward
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