Slovakia Targets Loot Boxes and Skin Betting in New Youth Research Initiative

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Slovakia’s gambling regulator has formed a research partnership to study young people’s exposure to gambling-like features in digital games.

The work will focus on loot boxes, skin betting and randomized rewards as authorities seek evidence for future prevention measures aimed at younger generations.

The Office for the Regulation of Gambling, known as ÚRHH, signed a memorandum with the Department of Digital Games at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. The regulator said the partnership responds to the increasingly blurred boundary between video gaming and gambling.

Research Will Examine Loot Boxes and Skin Betting

Researchers will examine how digital-game mechanics, monetization models and psychological design features affect younger users. ÚRHH specifically identified loot boxes, skin betting and other chance-based reward systems as areas where gaming can begin to resemble gambling.

The regulator has warned that repeated exposure to chance-based spending could shape attitudes toward risk among Generation Z and Generation Alpha. The partnership will combine regulatory experience with the university department’s expertise in game design and game studies.

The organizations plan to exchange research and monitor developments in digital gaming while developing evidence-based prevention activities. The memorandum does not introduce new gambling restrictions, and ÚRHH has not announced a timetable for research findings or resulting regulatory changes.

Libuša Baranová, director general of ÚRHH, said understanding how younger people interact with digital environments is becoming increasingly important because technology plays a central role in how they form habits, relationships and attitudes.

Digital Gambling Becomes Bigger Regulatory Focus

The initiative comes as digital gambling continues to expand in Slovakia. Internet casinos generated €568.6 million in gross gaming revenue in 2025 and represented 36.6% of the country’s total gambling GGR, according to figures released by ÚRHH earlier this year.

The regulator has already identified gambling-like gaming products as part of its longer-term strategy. Its 2025 annual report says that through 2030 it intends to work toward clearer rules for hybrid products in digital environments, specifically naming loot boxes and skin betting.

ÚRHH has previously warned that loot boxes can contain characteristics associated with gambling and may pose particular risks to children and young people. The new academic partnership is intended to provide more detailed evidence on how those mechanics are designed and how younger users respond to them.

Slovakia Continues Wider Gambling Policy Review

The research initiative also comes amid wider debate about Slovakia’s gambling framework. President Peter Pellegrini vetoed a gambling reform bill over consumer-protection concerns in November 2025, returning proposed licensing and regulatory changes to parliament.

The new university partnership is separate from that legislative process and does not itself amend the Gambling Act. Instead, the regulator is positioning academic research as a basis for future prevention policies as digital gaming and gambling products increasingly overlap.

The University of St. Cyril and Methodius operates a specialist Department of Digital Games within its Faculty of Mass Media Communication. ÚRHH said the collaboration will allow academic findings to be translated into practical prevention tools aimed at protecting younger audiences.

RELATED TOPICS: Responsible Gambling