Gaming
GamCare Highlights the Potential Harm Loot Boxes and Skins Betting can have on Young People
GamCare has said that the financial harm caused by loot boxes and skins betting is “a growing concern for many families and professionals working with young people”.
The comments come as the charity’s financial harm manager Raminta Diliso examines the relationship between the financial harms of online gambling and gaming with young people, and how it can be addressed.
Gaming-related products are growing in popularity but currently fall outside the jurisdiction of the Gambling Commission. The financial harm caused by these platforms is a growing concern for many families and professionals working with young people. While GamCare does not currently receive calls to their helpline regarding gaming, this may change in the future as the UK government is examining whether loot boxes could be classed as gambling, has launched a call for evidence earlier in the year.
The two most prominent products in games are loot boxes and skin betting. Loot boxes are “mystery items” embedded within games that can be purchased for randomised rewards, including “skins”. “Mystery items” are mostly made up of content that can give the player a significant in-game advantage over their peers, whereas “skins” are entirely cosmetic items that can be used by the player to customise their avatars and stand out. Young people can end up spending significant sums of their parent’s money in the hope of uncovering something of value. Valuable skins can then be traded in for real money on third-party websites.
GamCare recently facilitated a workshop to take a closer look at the issue of gambling amongst children and young people. The event brought together over 60 representatives from different sectors including financial services (banks, building societies, electronic money institutions), debt advice, gambling businesses and gambling support services as well as those who have been harmed by gambling from a young age.
The Gambling Related Financial Harm Project Steering Group, which includes organisations such as Santander, NatWest, Betting and Gaming Council and PayPlan, has called for a cross-sector response to drive these changes forward. The Group believes that all sectors could take an active role in preventing gambling-related financial harms for children and young people.
Recommendations from Gambling Related Financial Harm Steering Group:
- Gambling blocks on all under-18 bank cards
Financial services providers could ensure that every financial product aimed at under-18s has a mandatory gambling block. They could also continue raising awareness of gambling blocks amongst young people and students as they are at heightened risk of developing gambling problems.
- Gambling and financial education
Financial services firms and financial education charities could help raise awareness of gambling harms as part of their education programmes. They could work in partnership with gambling education charities, who can provide concise information to inform content development.
- Limits on gambling spend for young people
More gambling businesses could apply more stringent monitoring and checks on under-25s accounts to ensure that young people are spending within their means. They could also consider a blanket spending limit for all under-25s to further protect young people from gambling-related financial harm (as Flutter has already done).
- Preventing the use of credit use for gambling
Banks could consider what measures can be put in place to prevent students and young people from using their overdraft to gamble. The Department of Education could also work with financial services firms and student finance providers to prevent young people from using student loans and grants for gambling.
- Separate gambling within games
Gaming companies could separate gambling-like activities (such as loot boxes) within games and review the appropriate merchant category coding (MCC) for these transactions, which may allow banks to block these transactions as part of voluntary gambling blocks.
Powered by WPeMatico
Gaming
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
The post Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“
‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.
“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.
“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
The post The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Africa6 days ago
South Africa: Tribunal Grants Lottoland Interim Relief – Orders Google to Grant Lottoland Access to its Advertising Platform
-
Balkans6 days ago
CT Interactive Shortlisted in Two Categories at BEGE Awards 2024
-
21VIRAL6 days ago
21VIRAL Integrates Air Dice Group Games
-
Balkans6 days ago
NOVOMATIC Presents New Gaming Highlights at the BEGE
-
Latest News6 days ago
Stakelogic Wraps Up Deal with Bet25.dk
-
Amusnet6 days ago
Amusnet Expands Latin American Presence Through Strategic Partnership with bet365 in Peru
-
Chris Christie6 days ago
Chris Christie bets on Texas to approve OSB in 2025
-
Asia5 days ago
Macau Foresees Gaming Revenue Growth to $30 Billion by 2025