ArticlePloS one2022
Loot box engagement: A scoping review of primary studies on prevalence and association with problematic gaming and gambling.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychological mechanisms in video game monetization: A typology of contemporary strategies beyond loot boxes.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Review
- When Gaming Becomes Like Gambling: The Role of Flow, Immersion, Craving, and Self-control in Risky Loot Box use among Polish gamers.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Translation and Adaptation of the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q) into Brazilian Portuguese.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Sex differences, perceived stress, gaming motives, and gambling-like attitudes toward loot-boxes predict risky loot box use among Polish gamers.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Gambling-like gaming, offline leisure, and help-seeking in problematic gaming among Flemish adolescents: a three-wave longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Extreme social isolation risk is associated with story-driven, strategic and cooperative-first gameplay preferences.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Trends in problematic gambling among school-aged adolescents based on three Spanish nationwide population-based studies (2018-2023): a gender-based analysis of risk and protective factors.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Better than industry self-regulation: Compliance of mobile games with newly adopted and actively enforced loot box probability disclosure law in South Korea.Acta psychologica · 2025Article
- Increased user engagement on YouTube for loot box content and its potential relevance for behavioural addictions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Correlates of Gambling Behaviour Among Adolescents: The Role of Psychological Factors, School Behaviours, and Normative Perceptions.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A longitudinal replication study testing migration from video game loot boxes to gambling in British Columbia, Canada.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- Scrutinizing the Gateway Relationship Between Gaming and Gambling Disorder: Scoping Review With a Focus on the Southeast Asian Region.JMIR serious games · 2025Review
- How gacha gaming and life quality shape problem gambling risk: insights from a cross-sectional study using Hong Kong-based online survey of young adults.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- The Mediating Role of Problematic Use of Loot Boxes Between Internet Gaming Disorder and Online Gambling Disorder: Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- Does the loot box open the door to addiction? A case report of gaming disorder with high charges for loot box purchases.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2024Article
- Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 1: pre-registered hypotheses.Royal Society open science · 2023Article
- A scoping review of the association between loot boxes, esports, skin betting, and token wagering with gambling and video gaming behaviors.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Article
- Online Game Speculative Experiences and Problem Gambling among Adolescents in South Korea: Dual Mediation Effects of Irrational Beliefs and Gambling Attitude.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLoot boxes are an increasingly common type of random microtransaction in videogames. There is some concern about their expansion and entailed risks, especially among adolescents. The actual prevalence of engagement with loot boxes among child and adult population is uncertain, and there is still controversy over the nature of their relationship with problematic gaming and gambling.
objectivesThe aims of this scoping review are to summarize the characteristics and findings of published primary empirical studies about the prevalence of engagement with loot boxes and/or their relationship with problematic gaming and gambling, taking in account the type of sample, time frame and measured variables.
methodsThis study follows the Joanna Briggs Institute's "Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews" and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Three academic databases provided 299 articles.
resultsSixteen primary empirical studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. All studies used cross-sectional designs, and most used convenience samples. Twelve study samples were comprised exclusively of gamers, and two were comprised of gamers and/or gamblers. Only six studies included adolescents. The annual prevalence rate of loot box purchases was higher for adult gamers than for adolescents (22.7%-44.2% and 20%-33.9%, respectively), but in studies with general population samples, the opposite was true (24.9% for players aged 13-14 versus 7.8% for adults). In general, the studies suggested a significant positive relationship between engagement with loot boxes and problematic gaming and gambling, but this may be related to the type of engagement (open/purchase/sell), and the characteristics of the study participants (male/female, adolescents/adults, gamers/gamers-gamblers/general population).
conclusionsThis scoping review summarizes the results of recent empirical studies on engagement with loot boxes and discusses how methodological issues may affect their results and interpretation. Recommendations for future research are also provided.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.