Video games and Esports – is it Gambling?

Dr. Brett Abarbanel, Director of Research at the International Gaming Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas

From social casino games to Esports to virtual reality and in-game payments, many familiar activities blend the two concepts of gambling and gaming.

Loot boxes, for instance: are they harmless video game fun, or offering gambling to minors? A worldwide regulatory debate is underway assessing the permissibility of video-game loot boxes; as recently as November, 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which will look at the question of whether loot boxes constitute a form of gambling in this jurisdiction.

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As part of the BCLC’s Ninth Annual New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference, Dr. Brett Abarbanel, Director of Research at the International Gaming Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will look at the definition of gambling: there are so many examples in the gambling and gaming space where the idea of gambling is present – but is it truly gambling and if so/if not, does that matter to those who play, industry and regulators?

Dr. Abarbanel is available for media interviews leading up to and during New Horizons. Please let me know if you’d like to set up an interview with her.

The Rise of Pandemic Day Trading; Is a Tsunami of Day Trading Risk Ahead?

Dr. Sharon Collard, University of Bristol

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The pandemic has had countless impacts on our daily lives and for some this change has translated into more time and money spent on “self-directed investing,” also known as day trading. Is there awareness of the level of financial risk involved in day trading, and the similarities between the addictive behaviours of problem gambling and those that can arise with excessive day-trading?

Trading and investment service providers, such as TD Ameritrade, have reported that “2020 brought an unprecedented influx of retail investors,” with record-setting numbers of new accounts created.

Other events, such as the January GameStop price volatility and the online trading platform Robinhood, as well as other short-squeeze campaigns, reveal an increased level of influence in online investor communities.

As part of the BCLC’s Ninth Annual New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference, Dr. Sharon Collard, Research Director at the Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol, will examine the overlap between gambling and day trading, and impacts on individual-level financial risk at a session titled: Retail “Investing” – Is a Tsunami of Day Trading Risk Coming?

Dr. Collard is available for media interviews before and during the conference, please let me know if you’d like to set one up.

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