Gambling can be addictive, as most people already know, but are gamers being groomed?
It is being claimed that the growth of esports is being used as a way to normalize gambling among younger people, with betting brands often now sponsoring tournaments in this area.
According to an organization known as Citizens Against Expanded Gambling, children as young as 11 have been targeted in this way already.
Many believe children and teenagers who play online games are being groomed to be the next generation of gamblers, even as awareness of addiction issues continues to grow.
Betting on esports is already on the rise and bodies such as the Safer Online Gambling Group (SOGG) have been set up in order to warn of the dangers of gambling.
Esports games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are among those where betting on the outcome is becoming more common, with the younger generation particularly keen on esports.
The temptation of winning real money online is hard to resist, however, which makes it easy to understand why some people might get sucked in by the possibility of landing lots of big wins.
Should in-game ‘loot boxes’ be classed as gambling?
Loot boxes have become a common presence in a lot of games played by young people over the course of the past decade.
The FIFA series of football games is a good example. In the most popular game mode, known as Ultimate Team, FIFA players try to build the best possible team.
To do this, they are encouraged to buy ‘packs’ with in-game coins or real money in order to give themselves a chance to unlock top quality players or special cards.
It has already been decided in Belgium that these loot boxes should be classed as gambling and they were banned in the country as a result.
Other nations might be set to follow suit in order to try and protect gamers from the influence of gambling, but FIFA is far from the only game to be developed in this way.
In a lot of other games, players have to spend more money in order to download extra levels, special characters or to be able to unlock things such as new outfits.
It does not feel as though it would be a large leap for these individuals to start gambling too.
How common are loot boxes and are they still growing in usage?
According to research that was carried out by academics at the University of York, the use of loot boxes as a form of gambling in desktop games continues to grow. Their data found that almost three-quarters (71 percent) of games available to buy on Steam included loot boxes.
Microtransactions, where players purchase extra material on the game such as coins to spend as a virtual currency, were also shown to have expanded rapidly between 2010 and 2019. At the start of the period that was assessed in the study, microtransactions grew from just eight percent all the way up to a whopping 86 percent.
David Zendle, the author of the University of York study, pointed out that loot boxes and microtransactions are not “niche” in gaming anymore, despite what many people may think.
Loot boxes first started to be used in games originating from Japan, but they are now typically included as standard in games played all over the world, including by children and teenagers.
Of course, there is no obligation for people to buy loot boxes or use microtransactions but peer pressure and the desire to ‘complete’ a game can encourage gamers to go down this road.
How big a problem is gamers being groomed for gambling?
Data released by the Gambling Commission in October 2019 found that 1.7 percent
of 11 – 16 year olds were classified as ‘problem’ gamblers.
This is despite the fact gambling is against the law for people under the age of 16, with 11 percent of the respondents have admitted they had gambled in the past week.
Statistics such as these indicate that while some young people do gamble and may even develop a problem with gambling, it appears to be a relatively small number right now.
It has also been pointed out by the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment that millions of gamers enjoy playing their games “sensibly and safely” without developing any issues at all.
This does not necessarily mean that an apparent rise in betting should be ignored, especially as the link between gaming and gambling appears to be becoming closer than ever before.
As well as in Belgium, loot boxes have been highlighted as a problem in both the Netherlands and China, with restrictions or bans introduced as a result.
It seems likely more countries are going to be following a similar path in the coming years in a bid to try and protect people who play games from the risks of gambling.
