TY - JOUR
T1 - The convergence of gambling and monetised gaming activities
AU - King, Daniel L.
AU - Delfabbro, Paul H.
PY - 2020/2
Y1 - 2020/2
N2 - A recent innovation contributing to the massive growth and profitability of the gaming industry has been the development of in-game monetisation. In-game purchasing features (e.g. ‘loot boxes’, ‘skins’, and other microtransactions) have also generated debate in some jurisdictions as to whether some activities constitute a form of gambling. This brief review presents some academic perspectives and recent studies that have examined the validity of this claim. Evidence has focused on the nature of micro-transaction purchase behaviour, its similarity with gambling, parallel involvement in gambling, and its association with problematic gaming. Early evidence suggests that higher levels of involvement in monetised gaming activities may be associated with symptoms of problematic gaming or gambling.
AB - A recent innovation contributing to the massive growth and profitability of the gaming industry has been the development of in-game monetisation. In-game purchasing features (e.g. ‘loot boxes’, ‘skins’, and other microtransactions) have also generated debate in some jurisdictions as to whether some activities constitute a form of gambling. This brief review presents some academic perspectives and recent studies that have examined the validity of this claim. Evidence has focused on the nature of micro-transaction purchase behaviour, its similarity with gambling, parallel involvement in gambling, and its association with problematic gaming. Early evidence suggests that higher levels of involvement in monetised gaming activities may be associated with symptoms of problematic gaming or gambling.
KW - Loot box
KW - Loot boxes
KW - Skin betting
KW - In-game monetisation
KW - In-game purchasing
KW - Microtransaction
KW - Microtransactions
KW - micro-transaction purchase behaviour
KW - monetised gaming activities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074699122&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE170101198
U2 - 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.10.001
DO - 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.10.001
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85074699122
SN - 2352-1546
VL - 31
SP - 32
EP - 36
JO - Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
JF - Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
ER -