Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling: Results of a large-scale survey
Zendle first author. A self-selected online survey of 7,422 gamers found that spending on loot boxes was associated with the severity of problem gambling, and that this association was substantially stronger than the association between problem gambling and spending real money on other in-game items. The design is cross-sectional, so the authors state that the direction of causation is unclear. A later published correction withdrew one variance claim from the conclusions.
Zendle first author. A self-selected online survey of 7,422 gamers found that spending on loot boxes was associated with the severity of problem gambling, and that this association was substantially stronger than the association between problem gambling and spending real money on other in-game items. The design is cross-sectional, so the authors state that the direction of causation is unclear. A later published correction withdrew one variance claim from the conclusions.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-18.
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Zendle, D., & Cairns, P. (2018). Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling: Results of a large-scale survey. PLOS ONE, 13(11), e0206767. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0206767.