Drawing attention to the fact that weapons used in some games played online on the internet are bought with real money, experts emphasize that the methods used in games encourage gambling. According to the experts, various products sold in the form of luck boxes can be sold far above their value in different applications on the internet, and small purchases may not be noticed. Families should be careful.

Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin drew attention to the danger of gambling addiction in some games played online.

Prof. Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin noted that different cosmetic products are used in some war games that young people have recently played online, especially online, and that this is a kind of gambling and may pose a risk.

There are weapons bought by paying real money

Stating that some content called chance boxes in games are sold for real money, Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin gave the following information:

"There are some different weapons in war games that people play with other people online in internet cafes, sometimes among themselves on the internet. These weapons can be used cosmetically. A different colored weapon appears, which we can call skin in English, that is, a sheath. How is this obtained? There are some in-game content called luck boxes. You get them in certain amounts. And you pay real money when you buy it. For example, a person pays this money, a chance box of 3 liras is opened, and out of this box, a cosmetic content with a dragon figure, which has a high value among players at that time, appears. The value of this is 300 liras among players. This can also happen; you can sell that 300 liras of aesthetically more beautiful content to other people on different websites about these games on different websites. This leads to the following; for 3 liras or 5 liras, a knife that is sometimes used in the game comes out of that lucky box. A knife that players like can come out. If you know that this is a valuable weapon, you can go and offer it for sale on a different website. In other words, you can put 3 liras and have the possibility of winning 3 thousand liras, just like gambling. In other words, when you put 3 liras, a cosmetic sheath that is not very popular may come out, a 1 lira knife may come out, a gun paint may come out, but something else with a thousand lira value may come out."

Encourages gambling

Noting that these games, which are of interest to young people, are watched by many people at the same time, and that the applications, which are a kind of gambling method, pose a risk of gambling addiction, Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin said, "There are different sites on the internet where these can be followed. Some game publishers broadcast this chance box opening process on these sites. While broadcasting this, maybe 2 thousand, 3 thousand, 5 thousand or 10 thousand people are watching at the same time. So while the person is opening that box, people are watching it. They experience this excitement together. For example, that person says, 'Today I was lucky to get a thousand liras worth of cosmetic products related to weapons'. He celebrates. What happens then? The people watching this are unwittingly encouraged to do this," he warned.

Stating that legal regulations have been made in the UK regarding the situation in question, Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin said, "Some countries in Europe have started to realize the risk of gambling due to these chance boxes in online games and started to go to legal regulations regarding these games. England is at the forefront of this," he said.

Small amounts may not be noticed

Stating that the content and chance boxes in question can be bought in a very inconspicuous way such as 2 lira, 3 lira, 5 lira, Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin warned parents to be careful. Prof. Dr. Faculty Member Alptekin Çetin said, "Expenditures on these games of chance are organized in a way that does not attract the attention of parents. In other words, parents may not realize such expenditures in these games played by their children. In total, 300 - 500 liras can be spent at the end of the month. These are very serious amounts of money, unfortunately, and they revolve in this environment. This is a great risk for children and young people. A risk of gambling addiction through dopamine has emerged at that age," he warned.