The talk compares the results and practices of the treatment of problem gaming and gambling with each other relevant information for both the theoretical discussion of these concepts and the policy for their treatment. The results show that the central difference between the treatment of gambling and gaming was the aim of the treatment: for gamblers this aim was first and foremost to stop gambling. For problem gamers the aim was not to stop gaming. On the contrary, the gaming was often not even the focus of the interaction with the practitioner. The aim was instead to help the gamers to “add more life” to their lives instead of taking the gaming away.

1. Problem Gaming vs. Gambling:
Can they be treated together?
Patrick Prax
Assistant Professor, Department of
Game Design, Uppsala University
patrick.prax@speldesign.uu.se
1

2. 2

3. Gaming and Gambling at DiGRA
• Lootboxes
– from the perspectives of legislative frameworks
– a typology that focusses on the interaction of
money (buying boxes and selling content)
• Questions of defining gaming and gambling (in
regulatory institutions and theory)
• I am exploring this question from the
perspective of the consequences for the
problematic users.
3

4. 4

5. Aim
• Comparing the results and practices of the
treatment of problem gaming and gambling
with each other
• relevant information for both the theoretical
discussion of these concepts
• and the policy for their treatment.
5

6. 6

7. 7

8. 8

9. http://www.nordicom.gu.se/
sv/publikationer/whats-
problem-problem-gaming
9

10. 10

11. 11

12. 12

13. 13

14. 14

15. Reality of Treatment in Sweden
• Mixed in treatment in Sweden because of lack
of funding and infra-structure for gaming so
far
• In Uppsala gamers are thrown in to the groups
of the gamblers without even seeing it as an
issue
• In Goteborg gamers did join the gambler
groups over periods
15

16. 16

17. 17

18. Differences - Similarities
Chasing losses and
”making it all good
again”
Dispelling Gambler´s
fallacy
Consequences after
stopping vastly different
(life phases)
18
Both can be seen as
consequences,
escapism, symptoms of
other, underlying
problems (self esteem
and expectations on
self)

19. Practitioner: I don’t think we should mix gaming
and gambling but the organizations in
Gothenburg and in Sweden do it. The risk is that
the treatment becomes a copy of that for
gambling. You know, people know how one of
them works but if we get a 16-year-old and tell
him “you have to completely stop playing!” we
will lose him. It’s a big part of culture. A youth
culture that is. I think that [asking them to stop
gaming completely] makes many scared.
19

20. Gamblers have to stop gambling -
Gamers need to start living
20

21. Aim
• Comparing the results and practices of the
treatment of problem gaming and gambling
with each other
• relevant information for both the theoretical
discussion of these concepts
• and the policy for their treatment.
21

22. 22

24. Problem Gaming vs. Gambling:
Can they be treated together?
Patrick Prax
Assistant Professor, Department of
Game Design, Uppsala University
patrick.prax@speldesign.uu.se
24