ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0709-0777
Scopus Author ID: 57212551153
Google Scholar Profile: XvKrfvUAAAAJ

Metrics for Academic and Research Impact

Hi, I’m Leon, an Assistant Professor at the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong. We are recruiting PhD students and research assistants.

I research and have a PhD in video game law, particularly the regulation of loot boxes, gacha, and other gambling-like monetisation mechanics in video games that offer random rewards. I am trained in English law and have been Called to the Bar of England and Wales. I use empirical legal research methods to assess whether companies are complying with various rules in different countries through fieldwork, and I advise on how compliance could be improved.

I also conduct traditional, doctrinal legal research and psychology studies, including surveys and experiments. I am passionate about open science: I preregister research methods, share data, and even conduct registered reports (including likely the first one in the world in the legal discipline). I also dabble in some research on gameplay time and videogaming ‘addiction’ and the intersections between cryptocurrencies, NFTs, gaming, and gambling.

I am actively involved in advising on policymaking across the world. I have been invited to testify before an Australian House Committee. My research has been referenced (twice!) in the House of Lords, cited by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Belgian court, and relied upon by UK, US, EU, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, German, Austrian, Australian, and Brazilian policymakers and regulators. The Belgian Minister of Justice has publicly accepted my research critical of his government.

I put my research results into practice by making complaints against companies either through relevant regulators or directly. Through my actions, many key precedents in video game advertising regulation have been established in the UK, and companies have been fined in the EU for non-compliance. Companies and industry self-regulators have taken direct compliance and remedial actions following my research, e.g., amending the app store listings of many popular games to ensure consumer protection.

My award-winning research has received worldwide coverage in over 550 media features by The Guardian, The BBC, The Times, CNBC, NPR, RTÉ, The SMH, Ekstra Bladet, Politiken, El Español, El Economista, Der Standard, Het Nieuwsblad, HLN, RTBF, ČT24, TASS, SCMP, NME, The Daily Beast, New Scientist, Thanh Niên, and leading video game media, e.g., GamesIndustry.biz, GameSpot, IGN, Eurogamer, and Game Developer, amongst others.

I was recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Berlingske Talent 100 for my policy advocacy.

I have won multiple research and impact awards, a prestigious Danish grant, and multiple ECR grants, totalling over £71,000 in value. Current projects focus on using EU law (e.g., the Digital Services Act) to scrutinise gambling and video game advertising using social media ad repositories. I also hope to use data protection law (e.g., the GDPR) to access research data that the industry refuses to share publicly fearing that the results will be contrary to their commercial interests.