{"id":7649,"date":"2018-07-04T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=7649"},"modified":"2018-09-06T14:57:04","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T14:57:04","slug":"loot-boxes-deemed-as-predatory-gambling-by-a-university-of-adelaide-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/loot-boxes-deemed-as-predatory-gambling-by-a-university-of-adelaide-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Loot Boxes Deemed As “Predatory Gambling” By A Uni Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Loot boxes and in-game purchases have been put under the crosshairs of a new study by the University of Adelaide<\/strong>. These business practices have become quite popular in recent years as video game companies try their best to monetize their product. However, the researchers behind the study lambasted such practices as predatory and far too similar to gambling. This could affect the result of Australia's current investigation into loot boxes<\/a> and how they should be treated.<\/p>\n

Though the study focused its criticism mainly on microtransactions, the researchers pointed out that loot boxes posed a significant financial risk for players who are vulnerable to the addictive properties<\/strong> of the product. They just keep on buying and opening loot boxes in the hopes of getting a high-value product worth their purchase.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Dr. Daniel King<\/strong>, Senior Research Associate in the University of Adelaide's School of Psychology, said <\/p>\n

These schemes may entice some players to spend more money than they may have intended or can afford, especially when using credit cards or virtual currency that makes it hard to keep track of spending<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Loot boxes are random in nature. This means that buyers don't know what they will get when they open the box. It could be something common or extremely rare. The problem is that some products are unique to loot boxes and obsessive players keep on buying loot boxes until they get what they want. The result is something similar to the scratch cards that people buy at lottery shops, where they keep on buying them in the hopes of eventually winning. <\/p>\n

Newsy<\/strong><\/p>\n

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