Loot boxes in Spanish adolescents and young adults: Relationship with internet gaming disorder and online gambling disorder

TLDR

Loot boxes, microtransaction‑based virtual goods that resemble gambling, have become widespread in video games, yet few studies have examined their link to clinical indicators of gaming and gambling disorders. This study aimed to determine how common loot‑box purchases are among Spanish adolescents and young adults and to assess their association with Internet Gaming Disorder and Online Gambling Disorder. A cross‑sectional survey of 6,633 participants (average age 16.7 years) used Spanish versions of the IGDS9‑SF and OGD‑Q, and introduced the Problematic Use of Loot Boxes Questionnaire (PU‑LB) to evaluate problematic use. About 30 % of participants bought loot boxes, and those purchasers had 3.66‑fold higher prevalence of IGD and 4.85‑fold higher prevalence of OGD, while the PU‑LB showed good reliability and correlated positively with loot‑box spending and disorder scores.

Abstract

In recent years, the video game industry has introduced the possibility of buying virtual random goods (e.g., loot boxes) in electronic games using money through microtransactions, which are becoming more widespread and potentially akin to gambling. Although previous research has linked loot boxes with problematic gaming and gambling behaviors, there are very few studies that relate them to the clinical indicators of these problems. The overall goal of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of loot box purchasing behavior and its association with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Online Gambling Disorder (OGD). A secondary objective is to develop and analyze the psychometric properties of the Problematic Use of Loot Boxes Questionnaire (PU-LB). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 6633 participants (4236 males, 63.9%, and 4123 minors, 62.2%) with an average age of 16.73 ± 3.40 in a range of 11–30 years. The Spanish versions of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) and the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q) were used. A total of 2013 (30.4%) participants reported purchasing a loot box in the last 12 months (28.9% among minors). A person who had purchased a loot box in the last 12 months had a prevalence rate (PR) of 3.66 [95% CI 2.66, 5.05] of presenting an IGD, and a PR = 4.85 [IC 95% 2.58, 9.12] of presenting an OGD. The PU-LB exhibited adequate reliability and validity indicators and was positively and significantly related to loot box expenditure, IGDS9-SF, and OGD-Q scores. The results are further discussed, and practical implications and future lines of research proposed.