Study Connects Loot Boxes and Trading Cards to Problematic Gambling Mechanisms

A study by the City University of Hong Kong shows possible links of loot boxes and physical trading card games to gambling problems. Notably, the effectiveness of these mechanisms appear to be unrelated to buyers' overall state of mental health.

An open-access study by the City University of Hong Kong has unearthed links of physical trading card packs as well as lootboxes to potential gambling problems.

The study, which surveyed 1,961 players across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, showed that loot box spending had the strongest link to gambling problems. Physical card packs and digital card packs also showed connections to problem gambling, although weaker. No type of purchase was associated with poor mental health, meaning players with worse well-being or more distress did not report spending more on these products.

"Our results show that both physical and digital gambling-like products resemble gambling and are linked to problem gambling," said lead author Leon Y. Xiao of City University of Hong Kong. "There are two problems with current gambling laws. First, the existing law is not strictly enforced against physical gambling-like products like card packs and blind boxes containing Labubus, which constitute unlicensed illegal gambling in most countries, because their content can be and often are sold in exchange for real money on the secondary market. Second, loot boxes, the gambling-like product mostly strongly linked to problem gambling, remain largely unregulated in most countries. Legal definitions of gambling should be updated to reflect scientific evidence about potential harms."

The study was conducted by researchers from City University of Hong Kong, University of York, University of Lincoln, IT University of Copenhagen, and University of Bristol, and published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.