Scandal of online video games luring children into betting

Kate Mccann

Robert Mendick

A GENERATION of children are being lured into betting by online games, the Gambling Commission and the Government warn today.

Investigators found video games played over the internet are being “exploited” by “predatory third parties” which allow children to gamble because there are no official age verification checks.

Social media platforms are fuelling the rise of such sites, the commission warned, as it highlighted a study showing a “dramatic increase” in so-called “skin gambling” websites which encourage gamers to bet virtual items for real-world cash.

Their rise means children experience gambling often without realising, potentially leading them into more harmful forms of betting, experts said. The commission’s report showed that 80 per cent of children have seen gambling adverts on television and 70 per cent have been exposed to them on social media. A further 10 per cent follow such companies on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, even though they are under age.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph today, Tim Miller, executive director of the commission, says it is “alarming” that websites and games allow children to gamble without checks.

Tracey Crouch, whose ministry oversees gambling, said: “Any form of gambling online should be properly regulated and it is paramount that we protect children and vulnerable people.

“The Gambling Commission has shown that it will take action and prosecute

unlicensed skins gambling but it is important that we raise awareness to help parents be vigilant against this emerging risk.”

Experts fear hundreds of thousands of children could be gambling online without their parents’ knowledge.

The commission warned official platforms should not get away with being “passive” to the risks of unlicensed gambling sites and must do more to stop it.

The Government is pushing for the games industry to do more to prevent children from becoming addicted via online gaming and ministers are calling on parents to be aware of the emerging risks of skin betting. It follows the conviction of two men whose betting site, linked to the popular football game Fifa, was uncovered.

One of the biggest concerns high- lighted in the commission’s report is the rise of skin betting, where players trade or gamble skins – virtual items which change the look of a weapon like a gun or knife. Some skins are worth up to £1,000 and players collect and trade them online. But websites have sprung up alongside that allow people to trade skins for cash, or gamble to win better skins. Skins have value in the real world and can be won or lost online by gambling. Experts say this is unlicensed betting and children can use the platforms as there are no age verification checks.

Matt Zarb-cousin, spokesman for Fairer Gambling, said: “Gambling has a similar effect on the brain to cocaine addiction, yet more than one in ten 11-to-16-year-old children take part in skins betting. This is storing up problems for the future.

“Young people are more likely to get addicted as the brain doesn’t fully develop, and is not able to properly regulate risk, until a person is into their 20s. Which is why two in five of the children who gamble do so not as entertainment but to try to make money.”

Experts want the gaming industry to impose age verification checks and the commission warned official gaming sites to do more to flag unlicensed betting sites that feed off their platforms.

Vicki Shotbolt, chief executive of Parentzone, said: “It is absolutely terrifying what is going on and parents have no idea. This is a £5 billion to £7.5 billion industry yet parents are completely ignorant about skin gambling.” Marc Etches, chief executive of Gambleaware, added: “That there are 25,000 children with a gambling problem is a national disgrace.

“We are sleepwalking into a public health storm by normalising an adult leisure activity for a whole new generation of children.

“The Government’s proposed Internet Safety Strategy does not include online gambling as a potential harm on the basis that it is assumed children are not able to gamble to online. Clearly this is outdated, uninformed and wrong.”