A recent study undertaken by a collection of scientists has found that there is no real correlation between the purchasing of loot boxes and gambling at later stages in life. However, the study did find that loot boxes could possibly worsen gambling problems that already existed, instead of being a “gateway”.

Also, since it was a short-term exposure, the pathway they found might not apply to longer exposures and gambling like rewards in video games might be more complex than their own game so the limitations are there and we will need more evidence and studies to support the notion. The conclusion reads:

Consumers, academics, and policy makers have expressed concerns that loot boxes may be adversely influencing gamers through predatory design and implementation. Some have speculated that loot boxes engage cognitive processes that may promote future gambling behaviour. Our research is the first to directly test one pathway—effects on risk-taking—through which engagement with loot boxes might encourage future gambling. We found evidence against this pathway: Engaging with loot boxes did not increase subsequent risk-taking behaviour. However, we place two essential caveats on this conclusion. First, ours is only the first study to directly test the relationship between loot box engagement and risk-taking behaviour. Second, gaming behaviour—and spending on in-game rewards—operates in a complex system of personal and social motivations.

Loot boxes have become a much-maligned practice in recent years as many video game developers put them in a number of different game genres, ranging from sports games to multiplayer shooters. While some are simply cosmetics, others have coined the term “pay to win” in reference to how loot boxes can often give players unfair advantages over those who progress normally.

Loot boxes have become so bad that some countries have even passed legislation against them, such as Belgium, claiming that they are another form of gambling. Lawsuits have also been filed about how likely you are to get the loot you want. However, the study at least makes it clear that buying loot boxes won’t mean that you become inclined to gamble later in life.

In the study, the scientists in question put three groups of players into a simple game. Two groups were used as control groups, while the third included Loot Boxes. The other control groups included a fixed reward system. After the study, the researchers found that all three groups were very similar to one another in how they went about the game.

It’s likely that as incidents involving loot boxes continue, we’ll get more scientific studies about the effects of loot boxes on gamers, but for now, people worried about their children getting into gambling through them can at least breathe a bit easier…as long as they watch their bank statements.

In the meantime, the backlash against loot boxes for merely existing will likely continue for a while into the future, at least until companies start realizing that they’re bad press. However, considering how much money they get from people buying loot boxes to begin with, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon.