Magic: The Gambling?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-04-08 13:09

New Zealand; International

PHOTO: Wayne Low/Unsplash

Fans of collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon can buy “booster packs” filled with a surprise selection of cards to try their luck in making their playing decks more competitive, but is this linked to problem gambling? Kiwi and UK researchers ask this question in light of gambling concerns around loot boxes, or surprise rewards and extras a player can buy when playing a video game online. Despite their initial similarities - someone buys a surprise item in the hopes it helps their game - the researchers found no link between real-world store spending and problem gambling. The team suggests that the physical nature of driving out to a store to buy and open booster packs acts as a possible disruption to any impulsive behaviours.

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Journal/
conference: PLOS One

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Massey University, University of York, UK; University of Warwick, UK

Funder: PC receives buyout from the EPSRC Doctoral Centre for Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence. AD is supported by the Marsden Fund Council from NZ Government funding, managed by Royal Society Te Apārangi; MAU1804. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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