The Gam(bl)ing Conference: Thinking Outside the Loot Box will take place on 28–29 September 2026 at the City University of Hong Kong. The conference welcomes research on topics including, but not limited to, loot boxes, gacha games, skin gambling, social casino games, gam(bl)ing advertising, regulation, youth protection, and physical gambling-like products. We warmly invite researchers from game studies, gambling studies, psychology, sociology, law, media and cultural studies, and related fields to join the discussion!

Call for papers:

https://tinyurl.com/thegamblingcfp

Important dates:

Abstract submission deadline: 26 June 2026

https://tinyurl.com/thegamblingsubmit

Notification of acceptance: 20 July 2026

Conference: 28–29 September 2026

Extended abstract template

https://tinyurl.com/thegamblingtemplate

Submissions should be anonymised and will be reviewed by invited reviewers.

Abstracts may address (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Loot boxes, e.g., player packs in sports simulation games, card packs
• “Gacha” games, e.g., parasocial character summoning
• Skin gambling
• Gam(bl)ing livestreaming, e.g., slots and loot box and blind box openings
• Gam(bl)ing influencers, e.g., affiliate marketing; Pokémon card resurgence
• Social casino games and so-called “simulated” gambling
• Gam(bl)ing advertising
• Video game monetisation and engagement, e.g., battle pass and daily login
• Debating internet gaming disorder and video game addiction
• Gam(bl)ification of financial products, e.g., stock trading, Polymarket
• Physical gambling-like products, e.g., blind boxes and card packs
• Regulatory compliance and implementation, e.g., age restrictions
• Help and clinical services for gam(bl)ing-related harm
• Gaming industry adopting gambling industry practices (VIP services for “whales”) and vice versa
• Intersections between AI and gambling-related products
• Links between gam(bl)ing and crime, e.g., cheating and money laundering
• Game integrity in gambling and (e)sports
• Normalisation of gambling amongst young people
• Geographical variability in gaming and gambling (e.g., variegated regulatory contexts and socio-cultural norms)

Organiser

Prof. Leon Y. Xiao, City University of Hong Kong (leon.xiao@cityu.edu.hk)

Leon is trained in English law and researches video game and gambling policy and regulation with a focus on empirical evaluations of compliance and implementation. Recent studies focused on using laws to access research data (e.g., social media advertising repositories enabled by the EU Digital Services Act). His research is often relied upon by policymakers and regulators globally. Leading media regularly feature his findings and commentary.

Invited Speakers

• Aphra Kerr, University College Dublin, Ireland
• Philip Newall, University of Bristol, UK
• Elena Petrovskaya, University of Cambridge, UK
• Charlotte Eben, University of British Columbia, Canada & University of Cologne, Germany
• Yaewon Jin, Ewha Womans University, South Korea
• Francisco J. Sanmartín, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
• Aaron Drummond and Jim Sauer, University of Tasmania, Australia
• Luke Clark, University of British Columbia, Canada
• Harshdeep Mangat, University of Gibraltar

General Enquiry

Please direct any questions to the organising team via cmpo.net@cityu.edu.hk.

For more details, please visit https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/events/the-gambling-conference