Original story: Links between loot boxes and gambling have been "robustly verified" by a new report commissioned by GambleAware, a UK charity aiming at reducing gambling-related harms. The report, conducted by the University of Plymouth and the University of Wolverhampton ahead of the upcoming Gambling Act review, consolidated results from a dozen studies and found that loot boxes are "structurally and psychologically akin to gambling." Looking at 7,771 loot box purchasers, the report showed around half of the revenue generated by loot boxes -- worth £700 million total in the UK in 2020 -- comes from 5% of buyers. "A third of these gamers were found to fall into the 'problem gambler' category (PGSI 8+) establishing a significant correlation between loot box expenditure and problem gambling scores," GambleAware said.