Study: More than 1 in 10 young gamers fall into debt

[The Buzz]

A new report by the Gambling Health Alliance (GHA) claims that there’s a serious danger of gambling addiction for younger gamers, reporting that young gamers have stolen money from their parents to pay for loot boxes and/or have used their parents’ credit card to pay for them.

The study found:

• Almost one in six (15%) young gamers had taken money from their parents without their permission to buy loots boxes;
• One in ten (11%) had used their parents’ credit or debit card to fund their loot box purchases;
• One in ten (9%) had borrowed money they couldn’t repay to spend on loot boxes;
• Three young gamers’ loot box buying habits resulted in their families having to re-mortgage their homes to cover the costs.

In addition, almost one in four (22%) respondents spent over £100 on loot boxes over the course of completing a game, "suggesting young people are being set on a path to an expensive and potentially addictive habit this Christmas."

The vast majority of young people made the connection between buying loot boxes and gambling, with 91% of survey respondents agreeing that loot boxes should be classified as a form of gambling and three in four (76%) saying that loot boxes should be illegal for under 18s to buy. Gamers also thought they could be a gateway to other forms of gambling, with two in five (41%) agreeing that spending money on a loot box before the age of 18 would make someone more likely to gamble when older.

Duncan Stephenson, Chair of the GHA and Deputy Chief Executive of RSPH, said:

“We know that many teenagers will be unwrapping video games for Christmas, and while we know they give a huge amount of enjoyment for many, we are concerned that games containing loot boxes are having an impact on the finances of young people.
While this is a small survey of gamers, our research suggests that the drive to play games containing loot boxes is encouraging many to beg, borrow and steal – loot boxes really are the gift that keeps on taking. Aside from the financial cost our latest survey with gamers suggests that the fixation with loot boxes can lead to classic symptoms of addiction including mood swings, problems sleeping, and impacting on their social life.

Read more here: https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/new...oot-boxes.html

[Sherlock]

Useless study.

It is 10 of 10.

Who is not living off debt nowadays? The most shocking for me is not that gamblers are in debt, but the other threads on GPWA, where affiliates are in debt. Or casinos are in debt. If even capitalists from high ROI industry are in debt, who is not in debt then?

The base of the society is the debt. The problem is also the debt. The corona hystery is not about the virus, it is again the debt. The society is so much used to debt that it decided that it can just shut down and hoard even more debt. If there was no debt possible, some people would just died and that would be it. The same debt is also an environmental debt. People simply live their lives with maxing all sources and even beyond.

At the same time people feel that something is wrong with that. So they love to accuse gambling, corona, excessive spending (their own of course) to be the culprits. In fact, the only ones to be blamed are the weak ones, but that is exactly what the weak ones do not want to hear.

[Nenad]

Useless study.

It is 10 of 10.

Who is not living off debt nowadays? The most shocking for me is not that gamblers are in debt, but the other threads on GPWA, where affiliates are in debt. Or casinos are in debt. If even capitalists from high ROI industry are in debt, who is not in debt then?

The base of the society is the debt. The problem is also the debt. The corona hystery is not about the virus, it is again the debt. The society is so much used to debt that it decided that it can just shut down and hoard even more debt. If there was no debt possible, some people would just died and that would be it. The same debt is also an environmental debt. People simply live their lives with maxing all sources and even beyond.

At the same time people feel that something is wrong with that. So they love to accuse gambling, corona, excessive spending (their own of course) to be the culprits. In fact, the only ones to be blamed are the weak ones, but that is exactly what the weak ones do not want to hear.

Very well said! This is so true and honest opinion. Every single word is 100% true! I have same opinion, but unfortunately, I'm not that good in writing as you are. Many thanks for honest opinion. All the best!