15 pct of young people in Germany are "risk gamers": study

BERLIN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 15 percent of children and youths in Germany are showing "risky or pathological gambling behavior in terms of gaming addiction", said a study by the German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence (DZSKJ) and health insurer (DAK).

Youths classified as "risk gamers" are spending more money on gaming, miss school more often and have more emotional problems than the remaining group without gaming addiction. According to the study published on Tuesday, every fourth risk gamer who are predominantly male would play five hours or more a day at the weekend.

"Due to the tricks of the industry, many young people find no end and gamble away time and money," Andreas Storm, DAK chairman criticized. Fifteen percent of risk gamers even feel unhappy when they cannot play, according to the study.

The most popular computer games in Germany are Fortnite, FIFA and Minecraft which are regularly played by almost three quarters of young people in Germany aged between 12 and 17.

More than half of regular gamers in Germany spent 110 euros (124.7 U.S. dollars) on average on computer games in the six months prior to the survey. However, some young gamers responded to have spent up to 1,000 euros during the same time. A huge majority of all respondents, 89 percent, stated that their parents knew how much money they spent on gaming.

Children with risky gambling behavior "are considerably more ready to spend money on games", DZSKJ medical director Rainer Thomasius explained. "For example, they spend twice as much money on extras as players without pathological findings."

With 98 percent, nearly all children in Germany named "fun" as the main reason for gaming. Seveny-five percent stated that they were able to "switch off" when playing computer games while every second child is gaming because of their friends.

DAK chairman Storm warned that "fun can quickly become addiction. That is why the gambling character of computer games should be limited" and demanded that Germany introduced a "ban on loot boxes or wheels of fortune, like in Belgium and the Netherlands. In addition, gamers should be warned when certain game times have been exceeded."

The German center for addiction research (DZSKJ) estimated that risk of addiction is particularly high in games that contain elements such as open ends and numerous rewards. These also include Loot Boxes, which are a consumable virtual item in computer games, containing a random collection of certain items such as weapons.

Excessive gaming has become a global phenomenon with serious consequences. In 2018, a young Swedish Fortnite professional died at the age of 21 after a big tournament in the United States.