Video Transcription
Gambling in Gaming
Have you ever been playing a game, and then this happens? Oh! And so you keep playing, hoping to win again. While some say it’s harmless fun, others say it’s sort of like gambling.
There are lots of types of gambling that are illegal for kids, like betting on sports, scratchies, lottery tickets, and poker machines. But there are some mobile and video games that use gambling features that are legal for kids to play, and some reckon that’s a problem.
A recent study by the Victorian Government found that nearly half of the most popular video games in Australia included features that were considered gambling. Some of the games may have minigames where you can win prizes, which you can then use to buy loot boxes. Some of them have wheels that you spin to get extras purchased in the game. The bigger prizes are usually harder to get, and when you get them, you feel really good.
That’s how some types of gambling work. People are rewarded a little, so they keep on playing, hoping their next big win is just around the corner.
Yes, when you win something, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine. That’s the chemical that makes us feel happy, and it can be very addictive.
If you win a game, it feels really good. You feel really accomplished. You feel like, “Oh wow, yeah!”
There are also worries about some online gambling websites that accept skins as currency. So these things that kids are winning in the games—some of them are worth quite a lot of money. They can be sold to other adults, which opens up risks for kids, and they can be used for gambling.
Some reckon these sorts of things could be leading kids to gambling habits in the future.
There are some countries overseas that have banned games from using loot boxes and skins if they’re targeting under-teens. That hasn’t happened in Australia, but last week, the Victorian Government launched a program that’s trying to help parents understand the link between gaming and gambling so they can guide their kids.
But what do you think?
“I think it is fine, but they’d need permission from their parents and supervision.”
“I think that changing real money into currency isn’t a great idea because some kids just use their parents’ credit cards and do it without asking.”
“First of all, they shouldn’t even play those games. And if they do, then don’t spend money on it.”
Video by BTN
