BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1663328
How Gacha Gaming and Life Quality Shape Problem Gambling Risk: Insights from a Cross-sectional Study using Hong Kong-based Online Survey of Young Adults
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tung Wah College, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
- 2St. Francis University, hong kong SAR, China
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Background:Research related to the effects of gacha gaming on problem gambling among Chinese young adults in Hong Kong is limited, and the impact of quality of life(QoL) domains on gacha-related gambling behaviors remains largely unexplored. This study explored associations between gacha gaming behaviors, QoL, and problem gambling risk in this population. Methods:A cross-sectional study used an online survey to collect data from 281 young adults(aged 18–25) with experience in freemium gaming. Participants completed questionnaires on socio-demographics, problem gambling risk(PGSI-C), QoL(WHOQOL-BREF, Hong Kong version), and gacha gaming behaviors(e.g.,daily gaming time, monthly expenses). Stepwise regression analyzed associations between PGSI scores, QoL domains, and gaming behaviors, with p<0.05 indicating significance. Results:Of 281 respondents, 63.3% belonged to the low-risk problem gambling group, and 11% belonged to the high-risk group. High-risk gamers had significantly higher monthly gacha expenses(p=0.021). Regression analysis revealed a significant association between PGSI scores, daily gaming time, QoL variables, and education level(Adjusted R²=0.113, p=0.001). Physical and overall QoL were negatively associated with problem gambling risk(p<0.01), while daily gaming time and social QoL were positively associated with problem gambling risk(p<0.05,p<0.01). Effect sizes of all significant variables were small(f²=0.014–0.04). Conclusions:The positive association between social QoL and problem gambling risk suggests that a gamer's social circle significantly influences gambling behavior. These findings provide direction for future studies on the contributing roles of different QoL domains in gacha-related gambling among Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. Future studies shall adopt a probability sampling approach and/or a wider sampling pool to increase the generalizability of the findings.
Keywords: Gacha gaming, Quality of Life, problem gambling, Chinese, young adults
Received: 10 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tang, Kwan, Wong and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Anson Chui Yan Tang, Tung Wah College, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
Winnie Lai Sheung Cheng, St. Francis University, hong kong SAR, China
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