The Gam(bl)ing Conference: Thinking Outsides of the Loot Box 🎁
28–29 September 2026
Registration: http://tinyurl.com/thegamblingregister
Call for papers (deadline passed): https://tinyurl.com/thegamblingcfp
Embedded Files
Day 1 (below is work-in-progress and tbc)
Session 1 – Gaming and/or Gambling?
Aaron DRUMMOND, An updated meta-analysis of loot box engagement, problem gambling, and excessive gaming: Impacts of youth and risky engagement
Loot boxes are gambling-like mechanisms widely available in video games frequently purchasable for real-world money. Concerns have been raised they may be associated with problematic gambling behaviours. Previous meta-analyses have demonstrated a reliable association between problem gambling symptomatology and loot box spending. Here we replicate and extend these analyses with an updated meta-synthesis. We find that associations between loot box engagement and problem gambling symptoms are slightly larger than previously identified. Additionally, we examine two critical issues. First, we examine whether measures of risky engagement with loot boxes (e.g., chasing losses) show stronger associations to problem gambling symptoms than measures of spending on loot boxes alone. Second, we examine whether younger players show stronger associations between loot box engagement and problem gambling symptomatology. Confirming our hypotheses, we find that problem gambling symptoms are stronger predictors of risky engagement with loot boxes than spending on loot boxes alone. Concerningly, we also find that younger players typically show much stronger associations between problem gambling symptoms and loot box spending than older players. Taken together our results suggest robust associations between loot box engagement and problem gambling symptoms, and loot box engagement and excessive gaming behaviours, and that risky engagement appears to be a more important psychological construct to consider than spending alone. Results also suggest that young players are at greater risk than older players.
Yaewon JIN, Are We Measuring What We Think We Are? Conceptual Confusion in Gaming Disorder Measurement
Gaming disorder recently became the first formal mental disorder tied to the use of technology. Although the ICD-11 lists it as distinct from gambling disorder—the only other named diagnosis under disorders due to addictive behaviours—their diagnostic descriptions share many similarities, and researchers have identified correlations between the two related problems. This complexity has arguably not been sufficiently considered in the relevant epidemiological methods.
This talk draws on our recent study (Adamkovič et al., 2026), which examined what we call the gambling hypothesis: whether gambling-related problems might be inadvertently recorded as gaming-related problems when surveys fail to distinguish the two activities. We reviewed the 500 most-cited publications. Survey materials were obtained for 13 studies, but only one explicitly instructed participants to exclude gambling. Among a further 358 full texts, approximately one-third made this distinction. We also asked English (EN; n = 312) and Slovak (SK; n =319) speakers how they understood the relevant terms. About half of the participants (EN = 48.7%/SK= 59.1%) interpreted ‘gambling’ to be ‘gaming’ as well. Together, these findings point to a systematic measurement error rooted in conceptual confusion that is largely linguistic, though it does not affect all languages alike.
The talk then closes by briefly extending this language game into its sociocultural context through the Korean case. Drawing on the range of related terms used in Korean, it considers how the same conceptual instability extends beyond academic measurement into regulation and policy.
Beth WELLS (remote), The Matrix of Harms: An Examination of the Socio-Mechanical Factors Influencing Gambling
The Matrix of Harms: An Examination of the Socio-Mechanical Factors Influencing Gambling
Session 2 – Young People
Anne Mette THORHAUGE, Lootboxes as gateway drug: Findings from a two-wave longitudinal survey
Lootboxes as gateway drug: Findings from a two-wave longitudinal survey
Yekun SUN, Is It Gambling? Young Players’ Perceptions of Loot Boxes, Skin Gambling, and Risk in Mainland China
Is It Gambling? Young Players’ Perceptions of Loot Boxes, Skin Gambling, and Risk in Mainland China
Amy LINKLATER, Sarah MILLS, & Peter KRAFTL, Digital Gaming/Gambling Harms and Students: Financial Literacy and the Transition to Adulthood
Digital Gaming/Gambling Harms and Students: Financial Literacy and the Transition to Adulthood
Cassandra E. GRINSTEAD, David C. R. KERR, Connor PUNSALAN, & Jaedyn ANTLE, Risk Factors For Loot Box Engagement in U.S. College Students
Risk Factors For Loot Box Engagement in U.S. College Students
Session 3 – European Perspectives
Aphra KERR, Paul KITCHIN, Tugce BIDAV, Eamonn SULLIVAN & Erin MCEVOY, Gamblification, Professional Complicity and Regulatory Failures in Mediated Live Sport on the island of Ireland.
Abel NOGUEIRA LÓPEZ, Joaquín GONZÁLEZ-CABRERA, Aránzazu BASTERRA-GONZÁLEZ, Susana JIMÉNEZ-MURCIA, Antonio RIAL-BOUBETA & Juan Manuel MACHIMBARRENA, Loot Box Purchasing in Adolescents: Three-Wave Trajectories, Transitions, and Prospective Associations with Online Gambling Behavior
Jani KINNUNEN, From Gambling to Gam(bl)ing: Population-Level Evidence of Changing Play Cultures in Finland
Lowie BRADT, Eva GROSEMANS, Bieke ZAMAN, Maya GEUDENS, Bart SOENENS & Rozane DE COCK (remote), Reciprocal associations between gambling-like elements in the video gaming ecosystem, problematic gaming and online gambling: a longitudinal study among adolesents
Session 4 – Specific Games
Francisco J. SANMARTÍN, How do players feel about the removal of Loot Boxes? The case of Brawl Stars
Loot boxes (LBs) have become a central feature of many contemporary video games, despite ongoing concerns about their similarities to gambling. In response to these concerns, some developers have removed LBs from their games, raising important questions about how such changes affect players’ experiences. This presentation examines the case of Brawl Stars (BS), where the removal of LBs generated contrasting reactions within the player community. Drawing on 662 Google Play Store reviews selected from a dataset of 9,697 comments, the presentation explores players’ perceptions using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that most players viewed the removal of LBs negatively, highlighting the loss of the excitement associated with opening rewards and the perception that game progression became slower and more expensive. Other recurring themes included the belief that the game lost part of its identity, became less accessible, and reduced players’ motivation to continue playing, with some users reporting that they had ultimately abandoned the game. Although a smaller proportion of players supported the change or expressed mixed opinions, these perspectives were considerably less frequent. By discussing the Brawl Stars case, this presentation highlights the complex role that gambling-like mechanics play in shaping player experience. Beyond their monetization function, LBs appear to influence enjoyment, engagement, and perceptions of game design, offering insights for ongoing debates on responsible game design and the regulation of gambling-like mechanics.
Harshdeep MANGAT, Tradable skins, microtransactions and gambling: Counter-Strike as a case study of regulatory failure in anticipating emerging digital economies
Zixuan ZHU, Cashing Out: Liquidity-Based Gamblification and Market Governance in Video Games
Timothy MERRITT & Daniel CERMAK-SASSENRATH (remote), How Do Players Experience Win/Loss Patterns? An In-The-Wild Study of a Casual Mobile Game
Poster Session and Drinks Reception
Asger Holmehøj BACH, Yuchen HUANG & Rune Kristian Lundedal NIELSEN, Prevalence of Random Reward Mechanisms in the Danish-facing Google Play Store
Callum DEERY, Gambling-like mechanics in Roblox player generated content
Yuchen HUANG, Gacha Games In English-language Journalism: How Do News Stories Represent The Emergent Form Of Quasi-gambling?
Ryan NGUYEN, Hyoun S. (Andrew) KIM, Lisa HENKEL, David C. HODGINS, Philip NEWALL, Zsolt DEMETROVICS, Sherry H. STEWART, Daniel L. KING, Hermano TAVARES, Jung-Seok CHOI, Andre Luiz Monezi ANDRADE & Andrea CZAKÓ, Views on Gacha Games and Mechanics from a Canadian context: A qualitative study
Sarah HODGE, Digital resilience, health, and harms, vs the digital convergences
Amitoj Kaur CHANDI, Player plans, RNGesus laughs: Dark Patterns and Commodification of Play in Gacha games
ZHOU Ning & CHEN Yutong, Gameplay as Labor in Genshin Impact: The Hybrid Payment Strategy of Gacha Games
Xintong ZHAO, The Pastoralization of Gambling: Historical Ideologies and the Casino in Stardew Valley
Yuchen HUANG, Leon Y. XIAO, Xiaoyao REN & WONG Ka Yee Davina, US vs Genshin Impact: Settling video game loot box consumer protection concerns? An international comparison of gacha monetisation design
Pierre-Xavier CHOMIAC DE SAS & Sophie ROMAN, Gambling-like mechanics in video games: A challenging regulatory framework
Joseph GODFREY, It's 2045, I Spent $700 Rolling for Klee, and Genshin Impact Shuts Down: Copyright Law, Media Preservation, and Gacha Games
Jingru PENG, Protecting Minors from Blind Boxes: Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation as a Supplementary Regulatory Mechanism in China
Dominik SZCZEPANIAK, Lana STEPIŠNIK, & Rune Kristian Lundedal NIELSEN, Tactile Digital Blind Boxes: Improving the loot box through sensory interaction
Day 2
Session 5 – Beyond Loot Boxes
Charlotte EBEN (remote), [blind boxes]
Philip NEWALL, [The gamblification of investing: How a new generation of investors is being born to lose]
Yuening LI, Let's Play Crypto: Normalising Financial Speculation in Neobanking Apps
Kuma Xiaoyu XIONG, Chelsea Xiaoyao REN, & Elvis LO, Physical gambling-like products transparency: card packs, blind boxes, and gachapon
Session 6 – Streaming
Luke CLARK, Watching winning: who watches gambling streams and why?
Gambling streams are a relatively under-studied example of the convergence of the gambling and video gaming ecosystems. A distinctive aspect of gambling streams is that they are a form of vicarious consumption in which the viewer only observes the streamer gambling. Our research has identified risks from such spectating, among i) experienced gamblers, who experience craving in response to gambling streams (Wu, Abarbanel & Clark, 2024, Journal of Behavioral Addictions) and ii) gambling-naïve youth, for whom streams are a route of gambling exposure that can influence behavioural intentions (Fu, Wu & Clark, 2026, Journal of Gambling Studies). In analyses pooled across three online surveys (n = 544 adults with experience of both gambling streams and gambling), we assessed motivations to watch gambling streams, motivations to gamble, and problem gambling severity. Motivations to watch gambling streams were positively associated with the same motivations to gamble (enhancement, coping, and social), suggesting common gratifications. Coping motives to watch gambling streams were associated with problem gambling severity, and mediated by coping motivations to gamble. Further associations were observed for specific stream formats (watching slots, esports, and loot box openings) as a key topic for ongoing research.
Geoffrey LEE, Edging the Max Win: Loot Box Practices of Popular Live Streamers
Emil Lundedal HAMMAR, The intersection between gaming, gambling, and social media platforms in the case of five Danish gambling streamers on Twitch, Kick, and YouTube
Marium Ibrahim Ahmed & Eva GROSEMANS (remote), Gambling by proxy: Loot box live streams and the digital gambling ecosystem
Session 7 – Policy and Regulation
Laura HENDERSON, An International Tour of Loot Box Regulation
Across the world, policy-makers have been looking for the right tools to regulate the randomised video game monetisation mechanics known as loot boxes. In recent years, many regulators have turned away from seeking to include loot boxes within existing definitions of gambling, and towards more nuanced consumer protection measures. This ties in with broader trends in digital regulation, focusing on providing information to consumers, and the protection of children.
This presentation will cover regulatory approaches to loot boxes across different jurisdictions, providing context for further discussions of law and policy throughout the conference. It will include a particular focus on recent key developments, such as Brazil’s law prohibiting games likely to be accessed by children from containing loot boxes. It will also compare age ratings for games containing loot boxes, probability disclosure requirements, and loot box presence disclosure requirements across jurisdictions.
Tianyi ZHANGSHAO, Ben EGLISTON & Marcus CARTER, How Mainland China Governs Video Game Monetisation: An Imbalanced Framework
Jean Carl Nathaniel E. SUPAN, Who Owns Gaming?: Analyzing Gambling’s Semantic Displacement of Digital Games in Philippine Cultural Policy
Mario Eduardo MARTINEZ GUARNIERI, Beyond Disclosure: Youth Protection and the Regulation of Randomised Rewards in South Korea, Japan, and Brazil
Session 8 – Ethics
Eliya COHEN, [Ethics of monetisation]
Elena PETROVSKAYA (remote), Predatory to deceptive: understanding problematic microtransactions and who they might affect
Problematic microtransactions in games force players to choose between investing their time, attention or money to continue meaningful progress within a game, causing concern across player communities, academic research, and regulators. However, most countries have yet to effectively isolate and address the problem with this form of game monetisation, partly due to the nebulous nature of how these design elements are defined and conceptualised. In part, this leads to uncertainty around how they can be regulated in an efficient and player-centric way.
This presentation provides an overview of player-centric research into defining and understanding microtransactions, first charting a landscape of so-called ‘predatory’ microtransactions before going deeper into the qualities which make such design problematic — as well as how microtransactions tie to broader instances of deceptive and manipulative design. We will discuss the violation of player values, examine whether there can be such a thing as ‘vulnerable’ groups when it comes to microtransactions, and assess why it is important to study microtransactions through a player-led perspective, and best practices for doing this, drawing on examples of research with different demographics, such as adolescents in Japan and older adults in the UK and US. Finally, we will attempt to plot a path forward for regulation, bearing in mind the above and balancing player needs with feasibility and existing laws.
Avelyn Wenyu ZHOU, Jack MCGARRIGLE, Robert HEIRENE, Jamie TORRANCE, Martyn QUIGLEY, Simon DYMOND & Sally GAINSBURY, Dark Patterns Across the Gambling User Journey: Evidence from an Australian Pilot Audit
Yue DONG, Lihua QUAN, Changsok YOO, How Loot-Box Dark Patterns Cause Service Failure and Erode Player Trust in Games
END
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