Video game add-ons risk turning a generation of kids into gambling addicts, a public health non-profit has warned.
Some games let players use virtual and real money to buy “loot boxes” containing random prizes.
The prizes might change a user’s in-game appearance, or boost gameplay. Some prizes can be gambled for more valuable ones — or even sold for real cash at an online exchange.
A report by the Royal Society for Public Health wants under-18s’ games to be gambling-free, and some add-ons to be classed as gambling.
Nine in 10 teens aged 13 to 17 in the US say they play video games on a computer, game console or cellphone, according to Pew Research Center.
The global loot box market is worth an estimated $26,076,400,000, according to the Royal Society for Public Health.
The report warns: “The blurring of boundaries between an activity undertaken by the vast majority of young people and gambling also creates concern that it could become a normalised feature of their lives.”
RSPH chief Shirley Cramer added: “This is an area of wellbeing where the stakes are high but where a public health approach can prevent the cost of gambling harms being passed to future generations.”
The National Problem Gambling Clinic in the UK even expanded its care to children this year.
Source:Nypost
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