RSPH report sets the scene for the Government’s forthcoming focus on loot boxes

Funded by a grant from GambleAware, the Royal Society for Public Health (“RSPH”) has published a report entitled “Skins In The Game” (that you can download below). It provides clear evidence of where we can expect the forthcoming Government review of the Gambling Act 2005 to focus its attention insofar as the issue of loot boxes is concerned.

RSPH summarises its findings as follows:

  • Young people consider gambling to be an increasingly normalised presence in their lives, with gambling harms associated with a significantly increased risk of health issues such as depression and anxiety
  • Young people say that they are more likely to gamble at times of low emotional wellbeing, when they are feeling bored, aimless or lonely
  • Young people consider loot boxes and skin betting to be highly addictive forms of gambling
  • Individuals between the ages of 11 and 14 are those most likely to be taking part in the forms of gambling and gambling-like activity that young people say are the most addictive
  • Young people feel that the relationships between gambling and gaming, and gambling and sports, are both negative ones for their generation

Changes that young people want to see are described as follows:

  • To be given more information at school on the health risks associated with different forms of gambling and gambling-like activity, the support services available to them, and for this to start earlier in their childhood
  • Teachers and parents to be given more information in order to support young people to avoid gambling harms
  • The purchase of loot boxes and skin betting to be legally recognised as forms of gambling
  • Games developers and platforms to do more to make them aware of the risks associated with loot boxes and skin betting
  • The sports industry to do more to raise awareness of the risks associated with gambling harms and their potential impact upon health

The RSPH suggests that this can happen by the following means:

  • A broader definition of gambling to be included in the Health Education Curriculum and introduced to young people at primary school
  • The development of education programmes for parents and carers around gambling harms
  • The introduction of legislation to classify loot boxes and skin betting as legally recognised forms of gambling
  • The development of a set of criteria and the technology required to identify problematic spending on loot boxes and in-game content
  • The introduction of legislation preventing gambling operators from acting as title sponsors for sports clubs
 Arising from the above, RSPH is calling for:
  • A commitment from the gaming industry to ensure gamble-free video and mobile games for under 18s and the development of a set of criteria and the technology required to identify problematic in-game spending
  • A broader definition of gambling to be included in the Health Education Curriculum and introduced to young people at primary school and the development of education programmes for parents and carers on gambling harms
  • The recognition of gambling harms as an important issue for Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges

The RSPH report also highlights concern surrounding the normalisation of gambling in football, with our report revealing two in five (41%) 11-16 year olds are exposed to gambling sponsorship on TV or radio at least once a month. It calls for:

  • The introduction of legislation preventing gambling operators from acting as title sponsors for sports clubs
  • The imposition of contractual requirements preventing sports professionals from endorsing gambling-related activity

Commenting on the report, Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, has said:

Whilst it has been encouraging to see widespread acceptance of the issue of gambling as a public health issue for young people, this report sets out the scale of the challenge ahead of us.

Young people have told us that gambling and gambling-like activity are slowly but surely polluting hobbies that they see as having a positive impact on their wellbeing. In areas such as gaming, an activity undertaken by 93% of young people on a regular basis, participation in gambling-like activity is not only seen as normal, but in many cases, unavoidable. The rise of loot boxes and skin betting have seen young people introduced to the same mechanisms that underpin gambling, through an industry that operates unchecked and unregulated on the back alleys of the internet, which young people can access from their bedrooms.

As with any public health issue, this is one that requires a combination of measures focusing on both education and regulation. Young people are not universally opposed to gambling and gambling-like activity; they simply want to be able to recognise where it appears in their lives and to make an informed decision as to whether to avoid it altogether, or to participate in a way that lowers the stakes for their health and wellbeing.