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26-12-2023 | Original Paper

Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis

Author: Wiliam Machado de Andrade

Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies | Issue 3/2024

Abstract

Games for mobiles present strategies to monetize not only from selling a title but from financial exchanges that take place in the game. Those microtransactions motivate players to purchase random or surprise items (known as loot boxes) to customize game features or to overcome narrative obstacles necessary to progress to new levels. Researchers associate the practice with gambling if completing the transaction does not mean the acquisition of an item but the chance to receive it. This research quantified gambling-like features in games available for free, classified by Apple's marketplace as suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old, and from the top-downloaded list. The findings reveal normalization traces of chance-based mechanisms in most of the games. According to the research literature, early exposure to such features may result in problem gambling in adult life. This paper concluded that legal changes and more information provided by the marketplaces are needed to raise awareness of gambling-like practices in mobile games.

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Title: Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis
Author: Wiliam Machado de Andrade
Publication date: 26-12-2023
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies / Issue 3/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3602
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4

EASD 2024

Springer Medicine

Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis

Abstract

EASD 2024

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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