Heavy spenders in digital games: expenditure disparities and associations between microtransactions, gaming disorder and gambling disorder among adolescents.

Free-to-play games have transformed the economics of digital play, shifting revenue from upfront sales to continuous microtransactions. Research on the free-to-play model has largely focused on specific mechanics such as loot boxes or pay-to-win systems. However, little is known about how adolescents' spending behaviour relates to problematic engagement. Drawing on survey data from 2,308 Austrian students aged 10-19 years (48.8% male; M = 14.3 years, SD = 2.1), the present study examined the distribution of in-game expenditure and its association with gaming disorder, gambling disorder, and socioeconomic status. Expenditure was highly unequal: 10% of players accounted for 61.4% of all spending, and heavy spenders showed higher prevalences of gaming disorder and gambling disorder than casual spenders. Expenditures were not significantly associated with socioeconomic status, suggesting that high spending is not limited to adolescents with greater family affluence. The concentration of spending resembles patterns observed in other highly unequal expenditure markets, including gambling, suggesting potential structural similarities between the two industries. These findings raise questions about the assumption that microtransactions are harmless optional features and suggest that policy efforts targeting only loot boxes may not fully address potential risks associated with broader monetization practices among adolescent gamers.