No effect of short term exposure to gambling like reward systems on post game risk taking

Is engaging with gambling-like video game rewards a risk factor for future gambling? Despite speculation, there are no direct experimental tests of this “gateway hypothesis”. We test a mechanism that might support this pathway: the effects of engaging with gambling-like reward mechanisms on risk-tak...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 16751
Main Authors:	D’Amico, Nicholas J., Drummond, Aaron, de Salas, Kristy, Lewis, Ian, Waugh, Callan, Bannister, Breanna, Sauer, James D.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 06-10-2022 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/477 631/477/2811 Bayesian analysis Gambling Humanities and Social Sciences Hypotheses multidisciplinary Reinforcement Risk factors Risk taking Science Science (multidisciplinary)
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Is engaging with gambling-like video game rewards a risk factor for future gambling? Despite speculation, there are no direct experimental tests of this “gateway hypothesis”. We test a mechanism that might support this pathway: the effects of engaging with gambling-like reward mechanisms on risk-taking. We tested the hypothesis that players exposed to gambling-like rewards (i.e., randomised rewards delivered via a loot box) would show increased risk-taking compared to players in fixed and no reward control conditions. 153 participants ( M age = 25) completed twenty minutes of gameplay—including exposure to one of the three reward conditions—before completing a gamified, online version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Self-reports of gambling and loot box engagement were collected via the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and Risky Loot-Box Index. Bayesian t-tests comparing BART scores across reward conditions provided moderate to strong evidence for a null effect of condition on risk-taking (BF = 4.05–10.64). Null effects were not moderated by players’ problem gambling symptomatology. A Spearman correlation between past loot box engagement and self-reported gambling severity ( r s = 0.35) aligned with existing literature. Our data speak against a “gateway” hypothesis, but add support to the notion that problem gambling symptoms might make players vulnerable to overspending on loot boxes.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-022-21222-3