Meta-analysis of the relationship between problem gambling, excessive gaming and loot box spending

ABSTRACT

Loot boxes are purchasable randomized rewards contained in some video games. Concerns have been raised that these share psychological and structural features with traditional forms of gambling, and that they may exacerbate excessive video gameplay. Here, we quantitatively summarize two specific research areas regarding loot box spending using meta-analyses. We examined the relationships between loot box spending and (1) problem gambling (15 studies), and (2) excessive gaming (7 studies). We found significant small-to-moderate positive correlations between loot box spending and gambling symptomology, r = 0.26 (r = 0.37 using Trim and Fill), and excessive gaming, r = 0.25. Our results suggest a small, but replicable and potentially clinically relevant, relationship between gambling symptomology and loot box spending that is at least as large as the relationship between excessive gaming symptoms and loot box spending. Further research should examine the potential for statistical interactions between these constructs.

KEYWORDS:

• Loot box
• video games
• excessive gaming
• problem gambling
• meta-analysis

Conflicts of interest

Competing interests

No competing interests or potential conflicts to report.

Data availability statement

https://osf.io/h9k4m/?view_only=50c90c523c0b45188a510dd41c0aad24

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badge for Open Data. The data are openly accessible at https://production.tfjournals.com/open-science-badges/.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

Supported by the Marsden Fund Council from Government funding, managed by Royal Society Te Apārangi; MAU1804 awarded to AD and JDS.

Notes on contributors

Shaun Stephen Garea

Shaun Stephen Garea is a PhD candidate and Graduate Assistant at Massey University in the School of Psychology.

Aaron Drummond

Aaron Drummond is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University and a cyberpsychologist with an interest in the way that humans and computers interact. In particular, how digital media such as video-games influences human psychology.

James D. Sauer

James D. Sauer is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Tasmania. Before joining the University of Tasmania, James was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth from 2009-2014. Prior to that he was an ARC-funded post-doctoral fellow working under Prof Neil Brewer at Flinders University, Adelaide.

Lauren C. Hall

Lauren C. Hall is the Laboratory Manager for the International Media Psychology Laboratory at Massey University

Matthew Neil Williams

Matthew Neil Williams is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University. His primary interest is in the use of quantitative research methods in the social sciences.