Links between video games and gambling run deeper than previously
thought, study reveals

Date:
July 14, 2020
Source:
University of York
Summary:
A new study suggests that a number of practices in video games,
such as token wagering, real-money gaming, and social casino
spending, are significantly linked to problem gambling.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A range of video game practices have potentially dangerous links to
problem gambling, a study has revealed.


========================================================================== Building on previous research by the same author, which exposed a link
between problem gambling and video game loot boxes, the new study suggests
that a number of other practices in video games, such as token wagering, real-money gaming, and social casino spending, are also significantly
linked to problem gambling.

The research provides evidence that players who engage in these practices
are also more likely to suffer from disordered gaming -- a condition
where persistent and repeated engagement with video games causes an
individual significant impairment or distress.

Author of the study, Dr David Zendle from the Department of Computer
Science at the University of York, said: "These findings suggest that
the relationship between gaming and problem gambling is more complex
than many people think." "When we go beyond loot boxes, we can see
that there are multiple novel practices in gaming that incorporate
elements of gambling. All of them are linked to problem gambling, and all
seem prevalent. This may pose an important public health risk. Further
research is urgently needed." For the study, a group of just under 1,100 participants were quota-sampled to represent the UK population in terms
of age, gender, and ethnicity. They were then asked about their gaming
and gambling habits.

The study revealed that a significant proportion (18.5%) of the
participants had engaged in some behaviour that related to both gaming
and gambling, such as playing a social casino game or spending money on
a loot box.

Dr Zendle added: "There are currently loopholes that mean some gambling
related elements of video games avoid regulation. For example social
casinos are 'video games' that are basically a simulation of gambling:
you can spend real money in them, and the only thing that stops them
being regulated as proper gambling is that winnings cannot be converted
into cash.

"We need to have regulations in place that address all of the similarities between gambling and video games. Loot boxes aren't the only element of
video games that overlaps with gambling: They're just a tiny symptom of
this broader convergence." Last year, University of York academics,
including Dr David Zendle, contributed to a House of Commons select
committee inquiry whose report called for video game loot boxes to
be regulated under gambling law and for their sale to children to be
banned. Dr Zendle also provided key evidence to the recent House of Lords select committee inquiry that likewise produced a report recommending
the regulation of loot boxes as gambling.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_York. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. David Zendle. Beyond loot boxes: a variety of gambling-like
practices in
video games are linked to both problem gambling and disordered
gaming.

PeerJ, 2020; 8: e9466 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9466 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200714101236.htm

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