Safeguarding children: The blurred lines between gaming and gambling
07/27/2022
Playing video games in general can have a positive impact on both adults and children – some games can be useful for brain training and for mental health. Many people also find a shared sense of camaraderie and community, when playing games together with others online. However, there are some potential risks which children can be exposed to, even if the content has been rated as acceptable for young people. For example, gambling-like experiences are often imbedded within video games and it can be seen as a very normal part of the gaming experience.
Increased exposure to gambling
A report from the Children’s Commissioner revealed that 93% of children play video games. While Gambling Commission research shows that 11% of 11–16-year-olds have spent their own money gambling and 55,000 11–16-year-olds are classified as problem gamblers. It is therefore important that parents and carers have an awareness regarding the increased risks associated with online gaming – in particular the links to gambling activities for vulnerable people and children. A great deal of video games include features known as ‘loot boxes’ – they can be defined as in-game purchases which are often acquired ‘via a game of chance’, for example, tokens or virtual currencies, weapons or high-profile football characters. Although the occasional monetary purchase can seem fairly innocent, it is the associated behaviours which can become a habit and that can lead to long-term consequences.
The UK Government has come under fire for not being tough enough on its policy related to loot box engagements and the safety of children and minors playing video games. In July 2022, DCMS announced that video game platforms must ensure that parental locks are applied to loot box purchases – requiring children/minors to get parental consent to purchase loot boxes and in-game rewards. Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza criticised the department of insufficient action on loot boxes, which should have been treated as a parental concern that “children will be exposed to financial and psychological harms”.
Marie Williams, Safeguarding Risk Consultant, at Zurich, said: “Children may be spending more unsupervised time at home online as many parents will have returned to a physical setting to work, or they may be caught up in spending longer hours on their laptops if they’ve become permanent home workers. As screen time has increased and the fact that immersive technology is so advanced, this means many more children will pick up the habit of gambling while gaming. And the concern is, that parents, carers or supervisors may not realise the link between gambling while gaming or that children can even gamble whilst gaming.”
Williams continues: “As technology has moved beyond legislation, child gambling in this context is currently not illegal, so there is little that can be done to prevent it. Therefore, children can only be safeguarded from the risks.”
Many charities and mental health services are experiencing the problem first-hand. The NHS has now opened its first gambling clinics for addicts aged 13 – 25. Meanwhile, there has been a rise in child-to-parent abuse (CPA) according to recent research commissioned by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). CPA is any behaviour used by a child or young person, in order to control or coerce parents or careers. This could be a reason why parents aren’t simply removing gaming devices from children, although removing devices should never be the first option anyway as it doesn’t address the underlying issues.
The most recent UK survey into the gambling behaviours of university students, conducted by Censuswide, commissioned by GAMSTOP and the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM), found that:
- 80% have gambled and 41% of those that had admitted that gambling had a negative impact on their university experience
- Over a third (35%) are using money from their student loan, overdraft, borrowed from friends or from a payday loans company to fund gambling
- On average, they spent £31.52 a week with nearly one in five admitting to spending more than £50 a week
- More than half (52%) say that gambling makes them feel excited and one in three (33%) say it makes them happy, compared to one in five (21%) who describe feeling anxious
For more statistics and research findings from the report, click here.
Tips to help safeguarding
Our top five tips to help safeguard children and vulnerable adults when gaming are as follows:
- Encouraging conversations. Daniel Bliss, Director of External Affairs, YGAM said: “We talk to children about a wide range of societal issues such as alcohol and drugs, but we need to do more to have early conversations about the harms associated with gaming and gambling. As a parent, you remain one of the most important role models in terms of shaping how your children behave, therefore, it is so important that we all instigate these conversations to increase understanding and build resilience.” Knowing how to talk to them about gaming and gambling can be daunting but the YGAM Parent Hub has some simple guidance to help. Parents and carers may find it useful to discuss the things that can influence attitudes to technology and how it has made gaming and gambling so accessible. It’s also useful to open up conversations around length of screen time and if a child is actually enjoying the time they spend playing video games.
- Spotting the signs of harm. There are emotional and physical signs of gaming and gambling harms. Emotional signs that the child may have a gaming disorder can include, preoccupation with gaming, avoiding family and friends and being overly defensive. Physical signs of gaming harms may include headaches, bad fatigue and neglecting one’s hygiene. Gambling harms are much more complex than just losing money. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma around gambling which often leads to someone becoming withdrawn and secretive. Other mood or behavioural signs can include someone seeming agitated and changes to their sleep, eating or relationships. You can find more about the signs here to look out for here.
- Parental controls. Daniel Bliss, Director of External Affairs, YGAM said: “We understand it can be very overwhelming knowing where to start with safety controls for parents and carers – therefore, the first thing we’d recommend is to set up a device password and make sure that they are checking that they are of the appropriate age to be playing the game. Always check if a bank account bank account is set-up with the gaming account and utilise the spending limit controls that most games have available. Consoles, tablets, and mobile phones all have slightly different safety settings. The YGAM Parent Hub has a safety controls checklist to help families understand what parental controls can be implemented to help keep their children safe online. You can find the checklist here.”
- Be informed. Education is a powerful tool and it has an important role to play in preventing harm. It is vital that those who have care or influence of children and young people are also informed on this topic. The YGAM team deliver free online workshops and resources to a wide range of groups including teachers, parents, youth workers, health professionals, universities and community leader. Their website contains numerous valuable resources to help parents, carers and supervisors safeguard children and young people.
- Treatment and support. If you are concerned that someone is experiencing harms related to gaming and gambling, it’s important you are aware of the support and treatment that is available. While YGAM does not working in the treatment space, their website provide a useful guide into the support function that are available. You can find more information here.
About YGAM
YGAM is an award-winning education charity committed to a social purpose to inform, educate, and safeguard future generations against gaming and gambling harms. Through a portfolio of specialist programmes, YGAM provides evidence-led harm prevention training and resources to a variety of groups who have care or influence of young people. The programmes equip delegates with the knowledge, understanding, and confidence to deliver awareness and safeguarding messages to young people. Developed and delivered by a team of former teachers and practitioners, the YGAM programmes have been independently scrutinised, evaluated and quality marked by a range of credible organisations including City & Guilds and the Royal Society for Public Health.
If you work with children or have care and influence over them, you can register for their FREE training and resources by visiting www.ygam.org or contacting training@ygam.org.
