Internet giants lure children into gambling
Cartoon characters entice young to play roulettes and slot machines – and spend real money doing so
APPLE, Google and Facebook are tempting children as young as four into playing “highly addictive” casino-style games, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
They offer free slot machine, roulette and poker games on mobile phones and computers, with some of the games fronted by popular cartoon characters. Players are encouraged to buy extras, which could land unwary parents with bills of up to £179. In today’s newspaper, Tim Miller, head of the Gambling Commission, warns this is risking “normalising” gambling for a whole generation of children.
More than half of the 200 casino titles available in Apple’s online gaming store are rated as suitable for children aged 12 and over, while some games are considered appropriate for four-yearolds. The company did not respond to requests for comment. Google offers 250 casino games, most rated as appropriate for 12-year-olds. The company says gambling apps in the Google Play store are subject to “strict requirements”.
Facebook offers more than 70 casino-style games, which despite being for over-13s, is known to have underage children among its users. Facebook said it follows “the appropriate laws”.
CHILDREN as young as four are being offered free casino-style games by Apple, Google and Facebook, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph reveals.
The companies are offering hundreds of free-to-play “highly addictive” casino games, including roulette and poker, rated as being appropriate for children of 12 and above.
Many feature popular cartoon characters. Apple even rates some games as suitable for four-year-olds, including one billed as the most “addictive coin pusher game ever”, which includes roulette and slot machines.
Many games offer in-app purchases, meaning children who become addicted can run up huge bills on their parents’ credit cards. In one game, players are invited to buy up to £179 of virtual coins.
Tim Miller, executive director of the Gambling Commission, which regulates the licensed sector, warns that gambling could become “normalised” for a generation of children. “Free-toplay, casino-style games of the type highlighted by the Telegraph’s investi- gation are evidence of the gamblification of computer games,” he said. “They are highly accessible and attractive to children.”
Describing The Telegraph’s findings as “worrying”, Mr Miller went on: “Some of these products are exposing children to gambling type activities – spinning a roulette wheel, playing a slot machine, games of chance – without any of the warnings or protections that licensed gambling operators are required to provide.”
The free games are unregulated as they do not enable people to gamble with real money. Instead they offer a “gambling experience”, complete with “big jackpots” and “Vegas thrills”.
Apple offers 200 free casino games for iphones and ipads, 117 of which it considers appropriate for children.
Facebook offers more than 70 casino-style games without any age ratings. Users are supposed to be over 13, but younger children simply claim they are older to use the app.
Google has 250 casino games, the majority of which are rated as suitable for over-12s. Apple considers the games appropriate for children even though its own rating system warns that some include “intense simulated gambling”, “mild sexual content” and “mild alcohol, tobacco or drug use references”.
Games for children include Monopoly Slots, licensed by the toymaker Hasbro, which offers “thrilling free slot games with huge coin payouts”. It says:
‘These are exposing children to gambling without the protections that licensed operators are required to provide’
“Mr Monopoly wants you to join in the excitement of Vegas slot machines while you build and develop Monopoly City and win huge fun jackpots.” While it says it is for over-21s, Apple and Google rate it suitable for 12s and over.
Apple’s online store rates a series of games called Coin Mania as appropriate for children as young as four. Farm Dozer features a boy named Ethan who has to play coin-based games to help his grandfather build a house.
The main game is an arcade-style “penny fall”, but the app also includes roulette and slot machines. Players who want more coins have to buy them with real money. Google’s app store says it is appropriate for over-12s.
The most popular casino game, Coin Dozer, is also considered appropriate for children by Google and Apple. As well as the coin-push game, it also encourages players to “spin the slots and win the jackpot”. The top poker game, Zynga Poker, Texas Holdem, says in the small print that it is “intended for an adult audience” but is also rated by Apple and Google as a 12+ game.
Players get free chips to get them started and can play against people online. Sega Slots features Sonic the Hedgehog and players are urged to “help Sonic rescue his friends and earn huge payouts along the way”.
The small print says it is “intended for an adult audience” and the game
‘Mister Monopoly wants you to join in the excitement of Vegas slot machines and win huge fun jackpots’
asks for the player’s age after it is downloaded. However, gaining access is easy.
The game offers users the chance to buy gems for up to £99 on Apple iphones and £199 on Android phones.
Facebook said: “The safety of young people on Facebook is our priority and we have clear policies in place for app developers, who are required to follow the law in the countries they operate in. We work closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure our platform fully complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines in the UK.”
Google said that gambling apps on its platform are subject to “strict requirements”. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.