No longer the sold domain of teenage boys, online gaming is more popular than ever in 2022 with some 2.69 billion people taking part every year – a figure which is expected to rise to 3.07 billion by next year. In an industry worth a joystick shaking $300 billion, the online gaming world is as competitive as it is lucrative. As more and more people of all ages choose to spend their spare time glued to their screens, there are concerns that more than their eyesight is at stake. Increasingly, online games such as Book Of Dead involve ‘play to win’ features which, some people believe, is blurring the lines between gaming and gambling – particularly for young people.
What is online gaming?
In the past, video games were played by one or more players who would need to be in the same room in order to be connected to the game console. The introduction of the internet meant that gamers can now play games via the world wide web and can connect with – and compete against – other players around the world for a more social gaming experience.
Most online console games will charge a subscription fee for users and, these fees can vary widely depending on the game. As well as subscription fees, an increasing number of online games contain pay to win features – these allow players to purchase in-game items which can significantly improve their chances of winning.
About pay to win
In many cases, pay to win games allow players to buy in-game items at a relatively low cost but, for other games, players need pretty deep pockets. Diablo Immortal is an online game whereby players are tasked with battling evil after the presumed death of the Archangel Tyrael results in the corrupted Worldstone tainting the land. While Diablo Immortal is free to play, success – namely, winning, almost always requires the purchase of ‘legendary gems’.
While in-game purchases like this are becoming more and more standard, not all pay to win games are created equal – in fact, enterprising YouTubers, Matt and Michael of Bellular News, recently revealed that, according to their calculations, getting your hands on all of your in-game character’s legendary gems would cost an unbelievable $1110,000.
Pay to win works by using in-game tokens to purchase items such as, for example, legendary gems. Gamers use real life money which, when paid into their game account, converts into these tokens. In many cases, there is no upper limit to the amount of cash that can be paid into your account – meaning that spending can somtimes spiral out of control as gamers strive to progress within a particular game.
Gaming or gambling ?
While there may be no significant issue with adults with deep pockets shelling out for in-game items, there is a very real concern that children, young people and vulnerable adults may be seduced by these games and may be spending more than they can actually afford in order to progress to the finish line. Often, within a game, there will be cues and incentives which encourage players to make more and more purchases with the promise of a win – however, ‘winning’ involves achieving a certain level or score, not a cash prize, therefore lines are blurred between gambling and simply making a purchase. Game companies will very often offer sign up bonuses to players which give them a limited amount of ‘free credit’ to use within a game and, this is one of the most common ways gaming companies have of seducing new players and to keeping existing ones interested as their gaming progresses.
Games such as Diablo Immortal have a minimum age limit of 15, however, in 2022, most young people are tech savvy enough to be able to bypass this fairly easily. Because of this, concerns have been raised about the fact that pay to win games are, essentially, a form of gambling. This manifests in a couple of ways, including:
- Game of chance – In many cases, the acquisition of items is randomly selected by the system -ie, you pay for an item but don’t get to choose the specifics. This is, of course, how gambling works – for example, a slot machine whereby you pull the trigger with no way of knowing which symbols or numbers will be selected.
- Emotional triggers – One of the reasons why gambling is so popular is that it induces a ‘high’ for the individual, triggered by the possibility of a win. There are those who feel that this same emotional response is experienced by those who buy items within a game in order to improve their chance of a win.
What’s the problem ?
Problem gambling in countries around the world, including the UK, has been fast approaching epidemic proportions in recent years – an estimated 0.2% of adults in the UK feel that their gambling has got out of control.
A significant number of people feel that the gambling characteristics of pay to win games mean that a lot of children and young people are being introduced to something which has the potential to turn into a harmful addiction.
Gambling is not child’s play
In most countries across the globe, the legal age for gambling is 18 but, some regions have tougher laws including Greece where the minimum age is 21 and, Portugal where you have to be 25 in order to be able to indulge. This presents an obvious problem with games such as Diablo Immortal for which players need only to be aged 15 or over in order to play.
A 2020 study showed that 9% of 11-16 year olds in Engalnd and Scotland take part in some form of gambling on a regular basis. In 2020, it was revealed that a 13 year old boy from Lancashire spent £8000 on his father’s credit card after becoming addicted to online gambling. The boy said that his addiction began after seeing a bookmaker’s advert during a football match at Wembley.
One such form of in-game spending is that of loot boxes which are features which players can buy in game such as weapons and character outfits. While these loot boxes do not, in any way, improve a player’s chance of winning, the acquisition and collection of these can trigger the same emotions as gambling and, in recent times, a number of governments across the world have begun to take measures in order to place more stringent restrictions on these.
Conclusion
Online gaming can have some pretty great benefits for people of all ages, including social factors (this was particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic), as well as improving hand eye co-ordination. By playing against opponents from other countries, these games can also have an educational aspect; allowing players to learn about other countries and cultures.
Because of this, many governments are reluctant to impose new restrictions on games, however, there is a growing feeling that game companies should focus on fun, rather than increasingly using various methods such as pay to win in order to monetise their products.
Once gaming stops being fun, it’s a good idea to take a break for a while and, in 2022, many gaming companies offer the option of restricting access to your account for a certain period of time in order to help to curtail activity for those who feel that their gaming may be getting out of control.
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