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Category: Project

Description: Loot boxes are a common element of many video games. The defining feature of loot boxes is the element of chance. Players can buy loot boxes for real-world money, but they do not know a loot box’s content or value until they have opened it. Due to similarities between loot boxes and gambling, various countries are considering regulating them to reduce gambling-related harm. Indeed, prior research demonstrates a robust correlation between loot box purchases and problem gambling. However, loot boxes differ from each other in significant ways. For example, some loot boxes contain items that can be re-sold to other players, whilst others do not; some loot boxes contain items which give a gameplay advantage to players, whilst others do not. A key problem facing regulators is determining which types of loot boxes should be regulated to mitigate gambling-related harm. In this study, we specify a variety of different features that loot boxes may have. We then use a large-scale preregistered correlational analysis (n=1200) to determine if any of these features strengthen the link between loot box spending and problem gambling. Our results indicate that some loot box features may weakly strengthen the relationship between loot box spending and problem gambling. However, our main conclusion is that regardless of the presence or absence of specific features of loot boxes, if they are being sold to players for real-world money, then their purchase is linked to problem gambling.