Gambling is a pastime that is thousands of years old, and in the past century, it has become a legalized worldwide industry worth billions of dollars. By the latest estimates from The Business Research Company, a market consulting and data firm, this sector posted total revenues of $702 billion in 2023, representing a 56% increase from its 2022 figure. Naturally, gambling is an activity reserved for adults. However, due to the wide accessibility of crypto casinos, it has now become an entertainment form for anyone with a software wallet holding digital coins.
Moreover, in recent decades, video game developers have begun adding gambling rounds in their titles, exposing younger demographics to betting fun. Though this practice has amplified with the emergence of open-world games, gaming products featuring gambling mini-rounds have existed for quite some time. In 1978, Atari released Casino, a card gaming title for the company’s Video Computer System that supported up to four players and supplied blackjack, five-card stud, and poker solitaire fun.
Today, loads of top-end video games have gambling modes, raising concerns about how this will affect teenagers and young adults once they reach legal gambling age and how it shapes their brains growing up. That gets analyzed below.
The Risks and Dangers of Video Game Gambling for Youth
Without question, the first and most common-sense risk related to video game gambling is the threat of forming addictive behavior to this activity. Research shows that young people are more likely to develop gambling problems as they lack the impulse control that most adults have. That is so because the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, the prefrontal cortex, does not get 100% developed until a person reaches their mid-twenties.
Of course, hormones, and the lack of emotional regulation, also make teenagers more prone to fall prey to their impulses. Exposing them to a gambling culture at a young age can lead to the normalization of this behavior, which can cause them to be more in danger of developing mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem in the future. Conversely, they can be factors in making people gamble more. Thus, a self-feeding loop gets formed, leading to desensitization to gambling and further difficulty escaping this addiction.
Factors Contributing to Video Game Gambling Among Youth
Undoubtedly, the first is access to various video games with gambling modes. Examples of such titles are GTA Online, Red Dead Redemption 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Kingdom Come – Deliverance, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, to name a few. All these games feature classic casino gaming products, or some similar to them, that earn players in-game currencies that enhance their gameplay experience. That simulates individuals learning a risk-rewards-based behavior that they may attempt to apply in other areas of their lives, primarily in real-world gambling situations. However, it should be mentioned that reliable gambling sites boasting credible licenses have identity-verifying procedures that stop minors from playing games of chance for real money. They also implement responsible gambling measures like deposit/loss limit functions and self-exclusion.
That said, an even more hot-button topic in the video game industry in the past half a decade has been the rise of loot boxes as a concept, or virtual items that players can buy using real money in some video games. These assets can contain valuable or rare in-game commodities. But that only gets revealed after their purchase. So, in a sense, the reward attained through these items is random, which is why many relate them to gambling and view them as exploitive since they can give a false sense of excitement or perceived value. Due to this perception, some countries have outlawed them.
Identifying a Gambling Behavior in Teens
It is vital to understand that gambling is appealing to most teenagers because it provides thrills, can serve as a device to curb emotions such as loneliness or not fitting in, and can act as a social activity.
Things to look out for are changes in mood and behavior, such as modifications in eating/sleeping patterns, a sudden loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, quick irritability, or frequent mood swings. Also, if someone is constantly playing games, not only ones that mimic traditional gambling but also overly enjoys fantasy sports or begin spending significant amounts of cash on in-game items like skins. Know that these things can also be red flags concerning developing addictive characteristics towards wagering on events with uncertain outcomes.
Addressing Video Game Gambling
Parental supervision and guidance are mandatory for young people to understand the dangers of overindulging in gambling. Education and awareness raising on the topic of responsible gaming practices and the potential risks associated with video game gambling is something that should not get overlooked.
Moreover, government organizations should mandate that developers are more careful when designing their products. In terms of that, they do not promote or encourage gambling behavior. That should happen through enacted laws that stimulate transparency about the costs of purchasing virtual items and what customers get in exchange for their money.
Age verification should also be taken more seriously in the video game sphere, with publishers/distributors asking customers of 18+ titles to submit identity verification documents at purchase to ensure that minors do not get access to their games. Also, support for those who over-engage in video game gambling should also be provided via various help avenues, like chat services and open phone lines.
FAQ
Is Video Game Gambling a New Thing?
No. It has been around for decades, but one may say that GTA San Andreas introduced its modern form.
What Are Loot Boxes?
They are virtual items for sale that contain random rewards of varying rarity.
Should Governments Intervene in Video Game Gambling?
Yes, they should obligate developers to follow ethical design principles that do not put young people in danger of forming behavioral patterns that will cause harm to them.
To Wrap Up
Without Question, addressing the rise of video game gambling as a social problem and the repercussions it can cause requires a collaborative effort from multiple parties. Those working within the video game industry must begin practicing ethical design, adults must educate young people about responsible gaming practices, and governments should oversee these processes while also ensuring that no one does anything that can cause the forming of compulsive-enforcing patterns in teens.
Last Updated on by Icy Tales Team