Slovakia’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (ÚRHH) has formed a research partnership with the Department of Digital Games at the University of St Cyril and Methodius in Trnava to examine how gambling-like features in digital games may affect Generation Z and Generation Alpha, supporting the regulator’s longer-term prevention strategy to protect young people and other vulnerable groups as the boundaries between gaming and gambling become less distinct.
The partnership will examine loot boxes, skin betting and randomised reward systems that can resemble conventional gambling mechanics.
Research will consider how monetisation models, game design and social platforms influence attitudes towards chance-based spending.
ÚRHH will combine regulatory experience with academic knowledge of game design, player behaviour and psychological mechanisms.
The memorandum does not introduce new restrictions or establish a timetable for regulatory changes.
Findings may support future educational and preventive measures aimed at younger digital consumers.
In its official announcement, ÚRHH said the traditional distinction between video games and gambling is being eroded by modern monetisation models and chance-based mechanics.The research partnership expands the preventive work already carried out within Slovakia’s online gambling market, where ÚRHH oversees licensing, operator compliance and player-protection standards.
ÚRHH Director General Libuša Baranová highlighted the central role technology plays in the lives of younger audiences:
“For Generations Z and Alpha, technology is not merely a tool, but the natural environment in which they form their identities.”
The university’s Department of Digital Games operates Slovakia’s first comprehensive academic programme dedicated to digital games and game studies. Its expertise will help the regulator assess potentially harmful mechanics from both design and player-experience perspectives.
The agreement also extends ÚRHH’s wider work on vulnerable-player safeguards. The regulator has exercised its expanded consumer protection role through closer monitoring of gambling advertising and operator conduct during major sporting events.
Slovakia’s initiative reflects growing international concern about how children and young adults encounter gambling concepts before using traditional betting products. Digital games, social platforms and virtual items can expose users to spending systems based on chance, even when those products are not formally classified as gambling.
The research will help distinguish these emerging mechanics from products offered within Slovakia’s online casino market, where operators are subject to licensing, identity-verification and player-protection requirements.
Comparable concerns underpin Norway’s national gambling harm strategy, which identifies young people, loot boxes and skin betting as priority areas for research and prevention.
Outside Europe, Michigan’s youth-focused responsible gaming campaign similarly addresses skin gambling, casino-like gaming mechanics and early education.
ÚRHH has not announced when the partnership will publish its first findings. For now, the memorandum establishes a research and knowledge-sharing structure rather than a new regulatory programme.
