A quarter of young Scots gamble while playing video games, research finds

New research has revealed that almost a quarter of young gamers in Scotland gambled within video games in the last year.

Carried out by Young Scot and Scottish charity Fast Forward, the research found young people aged 11 to 25 are struggling to manage gambling habits while playing video games.

The survey of 406 young people also found that 35 per cent of those gaming reported negative effects on their mental health, relationships, schoolwork and finances.

Many video games promote purchases of loot boxes, in-game purchases that offer random upgrades and prizes to gamers for real-world or virtual cash.

And two-thirds of those surveyed said they had bought loot boxes, with more than half of respondents considering it as a form of betting.

However, more than three-quarters were unsure of where to find help for harmful gambling.

While the survey was conducted anonymously, one young person said that family conflicts had arisen due to their gambling within video games.

“It created an addiction that was terrifyingly scary as I just couldn’t stop, it made me feel so free when I was pressing the purchase button no matter the consequences,” they said.

This research comes amid growing concerns over the similarities between loot boxes and gambling.

The Gambling Commission has previously said that current legislation does not cover loot boxes, meaning it cannot take action.

Fast Forward programme manager Fran Howard warned that harmful gambling among young people is “hidden”.

She said: “It is rarely associated with young people and their voices are often missed from the conversation.

“If we are to keep young people in Scotland safer we need to start listening to what they have to say and build that into discussions about how we tackle gambling harm.”

More than seven in 10 of those contacted by the survey said that gambling was “readily available” to them.

Speaking in the House of Commons last May, the former minister for data Julia Lopez said that the UK Government would continue investigating the impact of microtransactions in video games on young people.

She said: “In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.”

Another young respondent to the survey said they had spent “stupid amounts of money” while playing video games.

“Although they brought me happiness at the time and for maybe two years, I still wish I could get that money back,” they said.

Over three-quarters of young people in Scotland are unsure of where to find help for harmful gambling, the research found.