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Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 October 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 28 October 2019 (named day). It was answered by Nigel Adams (Conservative) on Monday, 28 October 2019 on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Gambling: Video Games

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount spent by people under 18 on in-app or in-game purchases over the last five years.

Answer

We are aware of concerns about the potential for excessive spending in games, particularly by young people. These concerns, and particularly those regarding the availability of loot boxes, are discussed in the recent DCMS Select Committee report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies. We are currently considering the Report and its recommendations and will respond in due course.

We do not currently have an estimate of the amount spent by people under 18 on in-app or in-game purchases over the last 5 years. However, we note that the Gambling Commission’s new research on Children and Young People found that of the 11-16 year olds taking part in their survey, 52% had heard of the availability of in-game items and of these 44% had paid money to open loot boxes.

We encourage parents concerned about in-game spending by their children to consider using the parental controls available on devices to disable this function.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
3533
Session
2019-19
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Expenditure Gambling Young people Video games
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk