I understand that with loot boxes in some video games, these items like skins, weapons, tools, among others, can be traded for real money. However, there are others that are equally addictive without any monetary benefit. On the other hand, with casinos, in general, you can win money 100% of the time. Therefore, these cases of addiction are not strictly related to money, but the loss of money would be more of a consequence. So, to what degree is money a stimulating factor in addictions?
Is the loss of money just collateral damage?
There is a line between any psychological activities. Gambling has a clear line of games for money, and rewards in games like epic swords or pistols are something completely different. Before loot boxes, these were just rewards with a small luck factor, but exclusively for fun, not for money. So when something in between was invented - namely loot boxes, then all this began to resemble gambling. Anyone can lose all their money trying to get a rare and expensive thing from the game, and hopes that it will drop now and it can be sold while receiving real earnings. Therefore, loot boxes are an unambiguous, implicit section of gambling. And it is dangerous, because not everywhere it is recognized as such.