Loot boxes in games allow players to pay for a mystery prize, which is revealed after they鈥檝e handed over their money. The unpredictable nature of the transaction has led some people to say loot boxes can contribute to problem gambling. Now, a study suggests that this may be true, as when loot boxes were removed from a game the amount of problem gambling dropped too.
David Zendle at York St. John University in the UK heard that the developers of Heroes of the Storm were planning to remove loot boxes from the game. The game is聽multiplayer online battle in which loot boxes contain new characters or accessories for existing ones.
To see if spending habits changed after loot boxes were removed, he聽and his colleagues asked 125 adults who played the game to answer two surveys about their game activity over a month-long period, the first given before the loot boxes were removed and the second two months later.
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They asked the players to estimate how much money they spent within Heroes of the Storm, and to answer questions that gauged the severity of their gambling, grouping them into four groups: non-problem gamblers, low-risk gamblers, moderate-risk gamblers, and problem gamblers.
Once loot boxes were removed from聽the game, the non-problem gamblers鈥� spending habits in the game聽stayed at about 拢6.60 per month,聽and the low- and moderate-risk gamblers鈥� spending decreased a bit. But the only group that saw a significant change were the problem gamblers, with their spending decreasing 46 per cent,聽from about 拢65 to about 拢35 per month.
鈥淭his suggests there鈥檚 something specific about loot boxes that drives problem gamblers to spend,鈥� says Zendle.
There are two fundamental aspects to problem gambling, says Rachel Volberg at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. First, the person must have lost control over their gambling, either in how much time or money they spend. Second, they must have experienced some harm attributable to their gambling.
鈥淏ecause people have different levels of income, there鈥檚 generally not a specific monetary cutoff that鈥檚 used to establish whether someone is overspending. It鈥檚 more a question whether the amounts they鈥檙e spending on their gambling are not being used to meet fundamental necessities,鈥� she says.
In 2018, the governments of Belgium and the Netherlands determined that some loot boxes violate existing gambling laws. An Australian inquiry found that loot boxes could act as a gateway to聽problematic gambling for children, and an Australian government committee聽recommended that games with loot boxes should be restricted to those over 18.
In the US, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced legislation to prohibit loot boxes聽in games that target children. 鈥淕ame developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences,鈥� said Hawley in a statement.
Fortnite, another popular game, essentially removed loot boxes recently by revealing the assets inside before purchase, which eliminates the gambling element. Zendle says this may have to do with wanting to avoid scrutiny and seeing regulations like Hawley鈥檚 bill coming soon.
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