Are loot boxes feeding gambling habits?

The experience of buying loot boxes has led to addictive behaviour and problem gambling.

Many argue that the loot box phenomenon is getting kids hooked on the rush of gambling.

Wesley Yin-Poole, deputy editor of Eurogamer Magazine, explains how “opening loot boxes is a thrill.” If you lose, or if you win, you want to go back and have another go. “I am getting very similar sensations from opening loot boxes to winning in gambling,” he says. “When I get something that is really coveted, is really rare, that I know will make me look brilliant in the game or give me an advantage, I get the same rush as I would as if I won on the horses.”

Dr David Zendle, a lecturer at York St John University and an expert in loot boxes, believes problem gambling may be caused by exposure to these prize crates: “You get used to the excitement and the arousal of buying loot boxes, and then you go out and see a slot machine and you are needing that same excitement, so you use the slot machine and eventually problem gambling develops.”

It doesn’t help that young people, many of whom are already familiar with the thrill of opening loot boxes through gaming, are being directly targeted by online gambling companies that are using the prize crate model.

There is a proliferation of illegal sites facilitating gambling with skins and cryptocurrency, as well as the chance to buy loot boxes containing virtual or even physical prizes – like electronic goods and expensive trainers. Many are paying prominent YouTubers to stream videos of themselves opening these crates and winning big, though the odds of success are in reality negligible. These social media stars frequently do not advertise the fact they are being sponsored by the gambling companies. In the case of Tom Cassell and CSGO Lotto, the millionaire YouTuber broadcasting his “wins” was actually a co-owner of the gambling site. Something he never told his UK fans.

Notably, many of the YouTube fans subscribing to these videos are pre-teen and most of the gambling sites being promoted have no age verification process.