Bruce Dias 
Loot boxes have become synonymous with modern gaming, appearing across a range of different titles from mobile games to console blockbusters and even classic PC staples. These virtual containers hold the promise of randomized rewards in exchange for in-game currency.
In most cases, gamers can earn a small amount of in-game currency through their achievements on the game itself, but typically, this currency is bought with real money via microtransactions.The developers behind these types of games often claim that the rewards contained within these loot boxes are nothing more than cosmetic, optional extras.
Critics say this is not the case, arguing that loot boxes contain items that improve gamers capabilities and as such, offer them a so-called ‘pay-to-win’ option.The rewards contained in the boxes aren’t guaranteed though, so is it fairer to say that this is a form of gambling? Read on to find out…
Gambling Mechanics Hidden in Plain Sight
The proponents of loot boxes often refer to them in glowing terms, but in essence, these in-game features are redressed and disguised, old school gambling mechanics.
To avail of them, players exchange money – whether directly through microtransactions, or indirectly through time investment – for an uncertain outcome. This randomized reward structure triggers similar reward responses in the brain that slot machines and casino games do.
Loot boxes and online slots share striking similarities; both built around the thrill of chance and unpredictable rewards. Players pay for a randomized prize, often chasing rare or high-value items with low odds of success. However, while loot boxes are embedded within video games, real-money online slots are explicitly gambling, they are usually modern releases with exciting game mechanics, immersive themes, and bonus features that amplify engagement, which improves the experience when it’s a responsible adult playing.
(Variable ratio reinforcement schedules explained.)
The Look and Feel of Loot Boxes
It’s not just the hidden mechanics behind loot boxes that are taken from gambling, it’s the look and feel of them too. On FIFA Ultimate Team for example, when players buy packs, they are given information about the likelihood of winning certain tiered rewards. The only other place we see details like these are on gambling games such as slot machines, which carry a Return to Player (RTP) percentage.
Then there is the way that these packs are presented. When the player opens them, a bright, eye-catching graphic plays, showing the tier of reward that they have ‘pulled’ before revealing what the reward is.
There could be a huge, flashy graphic announcing the pulling of an elite level card, which makes the player think they’ve got one of the best players in the game, only for it to be revealed that they’ve won a kit or a 76-rated midfielder from the Turkish top division.
(Graphics and mechanics a slot game developer like Playtech would be proud of.)
Should Loot Boxes be Removed from Video Games?
There will be those that argue that parents should keep a closer eye on their children and that there is room for loot boxes within gaming, as long as the industry is a bit more tightly regulated.
Laws are there to reduce the risk of harm to people, regardless of how many are affected. The amount of people who die from car crashes in the UK each year is approximately 1,600. It’s estimated that since the seatbelt laws came into effect in 1983, 35,000 lives have been saved which is roughly around 833 people a year.
From a population of 65 million, that’s a very low number, but the seatbelt laws were still worth bringing into place to save those lives.
Likewise, the number of children using their parents’ cards to rack up gambling debt on video games might be low – it’s still very real though as this article shows – and the number of children learning addictive behaviours might also be low, but it’s still worth putting laws into place that would eliminate that risk.
