Background and aims: Recent models on the development of behavioral addictions stress the transfer from goal-directed behavior to stimulus-response habits. Administering a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigm to individuals with risky or non-problematic gaming, we recently reported that shopping-related cues increase instrumental behavior for a shopping-related reward (i.e. shopping voucher) while gaming-related stimuli triggered instrumental behavior for the gaming-reward (i.e. gaming voucher). This was observed even after devaluation of the gaming-reward. We now investigated the predictive value of the ?Shopping-PIT?- and the ?Gaming-PIT?-effects regarding gaming disorder symptoms. Methods: Data on symptom severity of gaming disorder six months after the baseline assessment were available for 48 individuals with risky gaming and 46 individuals with non-problematic gaming. Hierarchical regression analyses with stepwise inclusion of control variables, the ?ShoppingPIT?-effect as indicator of responding for a general reward after devaluation of the gaming reward and ?The Gaming-PIT?-effect after devaluation of the gaming reward as indicator of habitual responding as well as their interaction effects with symptom severity was calculated. Results: Higher gaming disorder symptoms at the six-month follow-up assessment were predicted by symptom severity at baseline and the interaction of the ?Shopping-PIT?-effect with symptom severity at baseline. The ?Gaming-PIT?-effect after devaluation did not predict symptom severity. Discussion and Conclusions: The finding that cuetriggered responding for a general reward contributes to future symptom severity in individuals with higher symptom severity at baseline suggests a cascade model with higher symptom severity leading to stronger cue-triggered reward-related responding which in turn leads to higher symptom severity.  Kulcsszavak: PIT-effect, habitual behavior, habit, gaming disorder