New research funded by the Ministry of Health and conducted by Mapu Maia Pasifika Service and Moana Research, indicates Pasifika survey respondents spent more on loot boxes than non-Māori, non-Pasifika with approximately 22% of Pasifika spending more than $20 per month on loot boxes compared to 10% of non-Māori, non-Pasifika respondents.

Roughly a quarter (27%) of Pasifika survey respondents purchased loot boxes compared to 22% of non-Māori, non-Pasifika.

Gerhart Berking, health promotion lead for Mapu Maia, says the study also found an association between gaming and gambling with the adverse characteristics of problem gaming almost identical to that of problem gambling.

“Pasifika youth were able to recognise and name characteristics of gaming harm and gambling harm for themselves and were able to identify the adverse effects of gaming and gambling separately. This included irritability, isolation, and anger as harmful effects of both gaming and gambling often triggered when a person loses or is asked to pause or take a break from playing activity in both gaming and gambling,” he says.

The research also demonstrates the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on Pasifika youth gaming behaviour with 37% indicating their spending on online games had increased, compared to 35% whose spending stayed about the same and 27% who said it decreased yet did not state why.

Of those who indicated their time playing games increased, 39% of them played an extra four hours per day, 30% played for two hours extra, 18% for three hours, and 14% for one hour.

The research identified that Pasifika young people who continuously game daily, experience characteristics listed in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5) or the criteria for gaming harm in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) or they know of peers or family members who tick boxes in the criteria.

Lead Researcher from Moana Research, Dr Seini Taufa, says of particular concern is that participants identified that family members as young as five years of age were showing symptoms of gaming harm.

“This shows that we see the harmful effects of gambling in adulthood, but gaming harm is seen at a much younger age,” she says.

"Our research provides invaluable insight into some of the reasons behind Pasifika youth’s gaming and spending behaviours. We're hoping that this study opens up more research opportunities to deep dive into the culture of online gamers.”

The qualitative findings from the discussions with youth suggest that excessive gaming is a gateway to gambling harm, however the findings from the online survey are inconclusive and further research is needed.

The full report, Pasifika Youth Online Gaming and Gambling Research: Are online video games a gateway to problem gambling among Pasifika youth? is available here

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