Authors
Financing
Este estudio fue financiado por la Dirección General de Innovación, Industria, Comercio y Turismo de la Generalitat Valenciana.
29/09/2026
Gambling-like games: Loot boxes and their link to problematic video game and gambling behaviour among adolescents
abstract
Loot boxes are monetization mechanisms incorporated into many video games that have attracted increasing research and regulatory attention due to their similarities with gambling. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the frequency of loot box use and problematic gaming, problem gambling, and depressive symptoms among adolescents. The sample comprised 3,700 adolescents aged 14–17 years from the Valencian Community, Spain (50.3% girls). Problematic gaming was assessed using the Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA), problem gambling with the Consumption Screen for Problem Gambling (CSPG), and depressive symptoms with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Differences according to the frequency of loot box use were analyzed separately for boys and girls using one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA). The results showed a significant association between loot box use and problematic gaming in both genders, with a substantially stronger association among girls. Frequent loot box use was also associated with higher levels of problem gambling among boys and with greater depressive symptoms among girls. These findings add to the growing evidence linking loot box use to indicators of psychological vulnerability during adolescence and support the development of preventive and regulatory measures aimed at reducing the potential harms associated with these monetization mechanisms in video games.
Keywords:
Loot boxes; gambling-like games; videogame; gambling.
Received date
30/06/2026
Accepted date
14/09/2026