Hidden Gambling Addiction in Online Video Games

Abstract

With the wide availability of personal computers and smart phones, today’s young generation are spending several hours a day playing online video games and socializing. The modern video game publishers are trying to take advantage of this rapidly growing industry by releasing new and new methods for players to spend their real money on video games. The loot boxes are a new type of treasure chests which can be bought for real money. After the purchase, players are getting a randomly selected item which most of the time is worthless, so they lost their spent money, but with a small chance it is very valuable, so they won the jackpot. This new method of moneymaking is working just the same as the classical slot machines or scratch cards which are strictly forbidden for children. So, the question is, can loot boxes cause the same type of gambling addiction as the classical forms of gambling? and if yes, why can the young generation freely purchase them in basically any video game?