Mikrotransakcje oraz zachowania hazardowe w grach cyfrowych – uwarunkowania i profilaktyka w kontekście teorii pozytywnego rozwoju młodzieży

Mateusz Barłóg; Wojciech Buda; Patrycja Jakubaszek

doi:10.56583/fs.3122

Published : 2026-06-30

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2026)

Microtransactions and Gambling-Like Behaviors in Digital Games: Determinants and Prevention in the Context of Positive Youth Development

Dr. Mateusz Barłóg

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3966-159X

Wojciech Buda

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7073-3473

Patrycja Jakubaszek

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4970-1783

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56583/fs.3122

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to analyze the mechanisms underlying the function of loot boxes in video games and their potential links to gambling-like behaviors among children and adolescents.

Method: A review of the literature on current research findings and reports was conducted, and the development of microtransactions in the gaming industry was characterized, with particular emphasis on the mechanics of random reward boxes and their structural similarities to games of chance. Selected psychological and behavioral mechanisms were discussed, as well as developmental factors, such as limited impulse control and peer influence.

Results: Based on this analysis, a theoretical model of the behavioral cycle associated with opening loot boxes was developed. Preventive measures were also proposed, incorporating an approach based on Positive Youth Development (PYD), highlighting the need to limit exposure to gambling-like mechanisms by strengthening adolescents’ psychosocial competencies.

Conclusions: The analysis indicates that loot box mechanisms, present in many popular video games, exhibit significant similarities to classic gambling systems based on randomness and reinforcement contingencies.

Keywords:

gambling, loot boxes, microtransactions, adolescents, video games, behavioral addictions, Positive Youth Development

Most read articles by the same author(s)

dr Mateusz Barłóg, Rafał Tomasik, Intervention Through Sport: Positive Youth Development with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Practicing Thai Boxing. Research in the Parent-Child Dyad , Facta Simonidis: Vol. 17 No. 2 (2024)

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

PDF
EPUB
HTML

Citation rules

Barłóg, M., Buda, W., & Jakubaszek, P. (2026). Microtransactions and Gambling-Like Behaviors in Digital Games: Determinants and Prevention in the Context of Positive Youth Development. Facta Simonidis, 19(1), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.56583/fs.3122

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

References

Aronson, Elliot, Wilson. Timothy D., Robin M. Akert, and Samuel R. Sommers. Social Psychology. 9th ed. Always Learning. Pearson, 2015.

Bakiera, Lucyna. “Wychowanie i rodzicielstwo, styl wychowania i styl rodzicielski: Analiza terminologiczna.” Psychologia Wychowawcza 58, no. 16 (2019): 60–72. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0013.6361.

Barłóg, Mateusz. “The Family as a Key Context for Positive Youth Development: Legal, Organizational, and Psychological Opportunities for Integrating the Family Into the Network of Support and Development of Adolescents.” Kwartalnik Naukowy Fides et Ratio 57, no. 1 (2024): 25–30. https://doi.org/10.34766/fetr.v57i1.1258.

Barłóg, Mateusz. “The Theory of Positive Youth Development: Polish Adaptation of the PYDSF and PYD-VSF Questionnaires.” Kwartalnik Naukowy Fides et Ratio 53, no. 1 (2023): 77–84. https://doi.org/10.34766/fetr.v53i1.1146.

Benson, Peter L., Peter C. Scales, Stephen F. Hamilton, and Arturo Sesma. “Positive Youth Development: Theory, Research, and Applications.” In Theoretical Models of Human Development: Theoretical Models of Human Development. Vol. 1 of Handbook of Child Psychology, edited by Richard M. Lerner and William Damon. Wiley, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0116.

Boyd, Denise Roberts, and Helen L. Bee. Lifespan Development. 8th ed. Pearson, 2019.

Bronfenbrenner, Urie. Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press, 2009.

Cialdini, Robert B. Wywieranie wpływu na ludzi: Teoria i praktyka. 7th ed. Translated by Bogdan Wojciszke. GWP, 2024.

Cudo, Andrzej, Jonathan David, Bernadeta Lelonek-Kuleta, Rafał P. Bartczuk, and Matthew T. Keough. “When Gaming Becomes Like Gambling: The Role of Flow, Immersion, Craving, and Self-control in Risky Loot Box use among Polish gamers.” Journal of Gambling Studies, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-025-10472-1.

Delfabbro, Paul H., and Daniel L. King. “Adolescent gambling.” In Adolescent Addiction, 2nd ed., 159–183. Elsevier, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-818626-8.00006-2.

Durlak, Joseph A., Rebecca D. Taylor, Kei Kawashima, et al. “Effects of Positive Youth Development Programs on School, Family, and Community Systems.” American Journal of Community Psychology 39, nos. 3–4 (2007): 269–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9112-5.

Lange, Rafał, Agnieszka Wrońska, Agnieszka Ładna, et al. Nastolatki 3.0: Raport z ogólnopolskiego badania uczniów i rodziców. Edited by Rafał Lange. NASK; Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, 2025. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://cyberprofilaktyka.pl/badania/Thinkstat_RAPORT_nastolatki-3_0_ONLINE.pdf.

Lerner, Richard M., Jacqueline V. Lerner, Jason B. Almerigi, et al. “Positive Youth Development, Participation in Community Youth Development Programs, and Community Contributions of Fifth-Grade Adolescents: Findings from the First Wave of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development.” The Journal of Early Adolescence 25, no. 1 (2005): 17–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604272461.

Ładna, Agnieszka, Karol Kamiński, Konrad Rosłaniec, et al. Nastolatki: Raport z ogólnopolskiego badania uczniów i rodziców – raport badawczy. Edited by Agnieszka Ładna. NASK – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, 2025. https://www.nask.pl/media/2025/09/Nastolatki_RAPORT-2.pdf.

Maslow, Abraham H. Motivation and Personality: Unlocking Your Inner Drive and Understanding Human Behavior. Prabhat Prakashan, 2023.

Moskalewicz, Jacek, Barbara Badora, Michał Feliksiak, et al. Oszacowanie rozpowszechnienia oraz identyfikacja czynników ryzyka i czynników chroniących hazardu i innych uzależnień behawioralnych – edycja 2018/2019: Raport z badań. CBOS, May 2019. https://kcpu.gov.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/oszacowanie-rozpowszechnienia-oraz-identyfikacja-czynnikow-ryzyka-czynnikow-chroniacych-hazardu-innych-uzaleznien-behawioralnych-edycja-2018-2019.pdf.

Newall, Philip. “Beyond Gambling: The Dangers of Analogistic Reasoning in Addiction Science, and How Loot Box Psychology Should Create Its Own Unique Theory.” Addiction Research & Theory 32, no. 5 (2023): 319–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2023.2279082.

Ostaszewski, Krzysztof. Zachowania ryzykowne młodzieży w perspektywie mechanizmów resilience. Instytut Psychiatrii i Neurologii, 2014.

Plopa, Mieczysław. Psychologia rodziny: Teoria i badania. 6th ed. Oficyna Wydawnicza ”Impuls”, 2011.

Przeperski, Jarosław. “Nowe paradygmaty w obszarze wsparcia rodziny w środowisku lokalnym w perspektywie umieszczania dzieci w pieczy zastępczej.” In “Pedagogika.” Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici 34 (2018): 103–119. https://doi.org/10.12775/aunc_ped.2017.017.

Roney, Christopher J. R., and Lana M. Trick. “Grouping and Gambling: A Gestalt Approach to Understanding the Gambler’s Fallacy.” Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 57, no. 2 (2003): 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087414.

Rose, I. Nelson, and Robert A. Loeb. Blackjack and the Law. RGE Publications, 1998.

Sharma, Prerna, and Ananya Mahapatra. “Phenomenological Analysis of Maladaptive Daydreaming Associated with Internet Gaming Addiction: A Case Report.” General Psychiatry 34, no. 2 (2021): e100419. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100419.

Skinner, Burrhus F. Science and Human Behavior. B. F. Skinner Foundation, 2005.

Somer, Eli. “Maladaptive Daydreaming: A Qualitative Inquiry.” Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 32, nos. 2–3 (2002): 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020597026919.

Steinberg, Laurence. “A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking.” In Biosocial Theories of Crime, edited by Kevin M. Beaver and Anthony Walsh. Routledge, 2017.

Sunstein, Cass R. “Probability Neglect: Emotions, Worst Cases, and Law.” The Yale Law Journal 112, no. 1 (2002): 61–107. https://doi.org/10.2307/1562234.

Tomić, Nenad Zoran. “Economic Model of Microtransactions in Video Games.” Journal of Economic Science Research 1, no. 1 (2019): 17–23. https://doi.org/10.30564/jesr.v1i1.439.

Vasta, Ross, Marshall M. Haith, and Scott A. Miller. Psychologia dziecka. 3rd ed. Edited by Anna Matczak. Translated by Małgorzata Babiuch [i in.] Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, 2004.

Walęcka-Matyja, Katarzyna. “Role i funkcje rodziny.” In Psychologia rodziny, edited by Iwona Janicka and Hanna Liberska, 96–114. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2014.

Wardle, Heather, and David Zendle. “Loot Boxes, Gambling, and Problem Gambling Among Young People: Results from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 24, no. 4 (2021): 267–274. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0299.

Xiang, Guo-Xing, Xiong Gan, Xin Jin, Yan-Hong Zhang, and Cong-Shu Zhu. “Developmental Assets, Self-Control and Internet Gaming Disorder in Adolescence: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model in a Longitudinal Study.” Frontiers in Public Health 10 (2022): 808264. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.808264.

Zendle, David, Rachel Meyer, and Nick Ballou. “The Changing Face of Desktop Video Game Monetisation: An Exploration of Exposure to Loot Boxes, Pay to Win, and Cosmetic Microtransactions in the Most-Played Steam Games of 2010–2019.” Edited by José C. Perales. PLOS ONE 15, no. 5 (2020): e0232780. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232780.

Zendle, David, Rachel Meyer, Paul Cairns, Stuart Waters, and Nick Ballou. “The Prevalence of Loot Boxes in Mobile and Desktop Games.” Addiction 115, no. 9 (February 2020): 1768–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14973.

Zimbardo, Philip G., and Richard J. Gerrig. Psychologia i życie. 4th ed. Edited by Maria Materska. Translated by Ewa Czerniawska, Małgorzata Guzowska-Dąbrowska, Aleksandra Jaworska-Surma, and Józef Radzicki. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2024.