The aim of the research was to examine the correlation between emotional competence and difficulties in emotional regulation with motives for online gaming, problematic online gaming and time spent playing. We also wanted to examine which variables will make a significant contribution in explaining problematic online gaming. The research was conducted online and a total of 288 respondents participated (M = 168, F = 119, I do not want to say = 1) with an average age of 25.75 (SD = 7.39). Several motives for online gaming have been significantly correlated to the variables of emotional competence and regulation. Thus, the fantasy motive was negatively correlated with intrapersonal emotional competence, and the recreation motive is positive. The skill development motive was positively associated with interpersonal emotional competence. Difficulties in emotional regulation were positively associated with fantasy and escape and coping motives, and negatively associated with competition, skill development, and recreation. The two subscales of the problematic online gaming scale, preoccupation and overuse, were positively associated with emotional regulation difficulties and negatively with intrapersonal emotional competence. Contrary to the hypothesis, the time spent in the game did not show a significant effect on emotional competence or difficulties of emotional regulation, but according to the hypothesis it was significant for the motive escape and coping. Four models were tested in which we examined the contribution of gender, emotional competence, difficulty of emotional regulation, time spent playing, and motives for online gaming in explaining problematic online gaming. The criterion variables were the total result of problematic online gaming and its subscales. The model by which we explained the highest percentage of variance is the model in which the criterion variable was the total result of the problematic online gaming questionnaire, and we explained 45% of the variance with it. According to this model, problematic online gaming is more often expressed by men, people who spend more time playing, people with emotional regulation difficulties and people whose motive for playing is escape and coping.