Secondary analysis of loot box data: Are high-spending “whales” wealthy gamers or problem gamblers?

Loot boxes are purchasable randomised reward mechanisms in video games. Due to structural and psychological similarities with gambling, there are fears that loot box purchasing may be associated with problematic gambling. Whilst monthly expenditure is typically modest (i.e. < $20), the distribution is highly skewed, with a small number of high-level spenders, sometimes referred to as “whales”. It is not known what proportion of industry profits...