Loot boxes are "psychologically akin to gambling", according to Australian study

Loot boxes in games could lead to problem gambling, according to a study by the Australian Environment and Communications Reference Committee. Over 7,400 game enthusiasts were surveyed for the study, the results of which were presented during a public hearing in Canberra yesterday, as part of the Australian senate inquiry into micro-transactions and chance-based items.

Participants who suffered a serious gambling problem were more likely to spend money on loot boxes, the study found. "These results support the position of academics who claim that loot boxes are psychologically akin to gambling," reads the submission.

"Spending large amounts of money on loot boxes was associated with problematic levels of spending on other forms of gambling. This is what one would expect if loot boxes psychologically constituted a form of gambling. It is not what one would expect if loot boxes were, instead, psychologically comparable to baseball cards."

The report suggests that loot boxes could act as a gateway to problem gambling, noting that loot boxes share "important characteristics" with problem gambling. "They may therefore condition gamers to require the excitement associated with gambling , leading to problem gambling." The opposite could be true, too, so says the study: problem gamblers might find themselves attracted to loot boxes.

Among the ECRC's recommendations is that games with loot boxes be restricted to players of legal gambling age (18-years-old, in Australia). Games would also be required to carry warnings about the presence of loot boxes, as well as parental advisories.

Druggedhippo on September 19th, 2018 at 05:21 UTC »

The actual transcript is an interesting read, although it's still prelim, with a more detailed report on the 17th of October apparently.

Lootboxes may be gateway to gambling

Loot boxes may well be acting as a gateway to problem gambling amongst gamers; hence the more gamers spend on loot boxes, the more severe their problem gambling becomes. Alternatively, it may be the case that individuals who are already problem gamblers instead tend to spend more on loot boxes.

On the difference between Kinder Surpise and Computer Loot boxes:

So if I wanted to go and buy a Kinder egg I have to pop down to the shop and buy a Kinder egg, or I can buy a box full of Kinder eggs. But once I've spent that and opened them, I'd have to go back to a shop again, and that slows things down, because it is a physical action. When I am on a computer, I can keep pressing 'buy' at a rate as fast as my finger can click. So there is velocity is there. And of course the volume is that I can spend as much as I think is reasonable as well. The physical world puts natural barriers in the way of people's behaviour, which makes life more complicated.

Distinction between real-world currency and soley in-game lootboxes:

a loot box mechanic in the context of a group dungeon is relatively harmless but, when you have real-world currency on one end and the potential for something which has real-world value or significant social value on another, then that very much changes the dynamic.

Algorithms for loot boxes might end up being built like those in poker machines:

CHAIR: Do you subscribe to the view that fundamentally many, many types of them function using the same variable repeating ratio that sits behind a lot of things like poker machines?

Dr Cairns: I would assume so. It is evil in my view. But the research in slot machines is very clear. It's highly effective if you get those ratios right in what's called offering a smooth ride to extinction; in other words, literally taking all the money off the gambler. They worked over decades to get these proportions right and to get the balance right in order to monetise slot machines. My guess is that it may be early days of loot boxes but there are people looking at these analytics, and if their job is to increase monetisation they will be doing exactly the same thing in the loot box context.

Pyrebirdd on September 19th, 2018 at 04:22 UTC »

Just apply the regular gambling regulations to games with loot crates.

rolfraikou on September 19th, 2018 at 02:18 UTC »

I've totally fine with free to play games selling you goods in the game. But the loot boxes, where you have a "chance" of getting an item needs to stop. That is gambling.

If I'm told "$10 gets you this mount and armor" I'm paying for a thing I want. If "This $10 loot box may contain the armor and/or mount you want" it could be $300 before I get what I actually wanted? That's just insane.