Loot boxes are once again the focal point of a new study that sought to establish a link between purchasing such seemingly innocuous digital containers and mental health.

The survey, published in Computers in Human Behavior, aims to analyze the effect loot boxes may have on impulsivity, depression, anxiety and stress as per the authors, Cristina Villalba-Garcia, Mark D.Griffiths, Zsolt Demetrovics and Andrea Czako.

Loot boxes and the link between addiction and mental health issues

The highlights of the study establish several key issues that may be traced back to the use of loot boxes. The authors argue that such digital purchases could aggravate problem gambling and problematic game use issues, for example.

There is a "positive association" between loot boxes and depression, anxiety, stress, and impulsivity. Buying loot boxes also shares some of the mental health risk factors similar to those found in other types of addictions, the authors go on.

To arrive at these conclusions, the authors interviewed 1,400 adults who participated in both gambling and online gaming, with 96% confirming that they had bought loot boxes, and more than 41% saying that they had bought a loot box more than once weekly.

According to Demetrovics, one of the authors of the study, this type of spending on a digital good that offers no certainty of reward is closely mimicking how gambling works. Such conclusions were reached by the Netherlands and Belgium where loot boxes have been prohibited from video games.

In an even more recent case, a Belgium couple filed a complaint with the country’s gambling watchdog over the use of loot boxes in League of Legends, a popular video game with hundreds of millions of players globally.

The study only adds to the body of evidence that there are issues underpinning the purchase of loot boxes, although certain jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, have refrained from labeling loot boxes as a form of gambling.

A new study in Belgium recently indicated that loot boxes contribute a great deal to teenagers’ motivation to gamble.

Loot boxes need to be considered more seriously by lawmakers seeking to minimize harm

Loot boxes, the study argues, clearly have something to do with confounding mental health problems and making it harder for individuals to cope with these issues. However, it is not definitive proof that loot boxes specifically fuel and drive addictive behaviors.

The people participating were already into online gambling, for one. Nevertheless, according to Villalba-Garcia, another of the co-authors from the University of Gibraltar, the findings still serve an important step towards helping mitigate harm originating in gambling-like mechanics.

All told, the researchers agree that lawmakers should at the very least consider the fact that loot boxescould lead to adverse consequences, especially in at-risk individuals. Awareness of gambling-related mental health problems has been increasing.

General practitioners in the United Kingdom are now urged to ask their patients routine questions about whether they gamble, much like they would ask about alcohol or drug use.

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