I Was 'Gambling' Aged 12 Through A Gaming Loophole – Regulations Need To Change

Child playing video gameA staggering 85,000 children aged 11-17 in Britain are currently experiencing gambling harm, according to the Gambling Commission’s 2024 Young People and Gambling Report.Two-thirds (66%) of 18-24-year-olds said they saw their first gambling advertising and content before they were of age (you have to be 18 or over to gamble in the UK).Speaking to HuffPost UK, Niks – now a member of the Lived Experience Council at GambleAware – said he made his first introduction to “betting” when he was 12 through online gaming. “It was extremely isolating,” he told us, describing years of gambling harm that led to difficulties passing his GCSEs and, later, university exams. The gateway to gambling began, for Niks, with unregulated “loot boxes” – a gaming mechanism in which gamers can open, say, “a treasure box... for example, [for] £2, and you can get a randomised [in-game] reward item that could have a value of ... up to thousands of pounds”.So why are kids able to access these loot boxes, and what might their effects be in the long term?The government previously looked into placing loot boxes under the Gambling Act of 2005, but didn’t do itIn 2019, the then Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for loot boxes to be added to the Gambling Act of 2005, which would mean they would not be available to children. In 2020, a House of Lords gambling harm committee called for the same thing, but the previous government decided that new guidance developed by industry representatives would suffice instead.That new guidance, helmed by video games trade body Ukie, suggests using controls to stop under-18s from buying loot boxes without their parents’ permission. This is meant to help gaming companies “self-regulate” the use of loot boxes and is not legally enforceable. But Niks claimed that “it doesn’t work”.“They don’t do it. They still allow kids to gamble,” he said.Loot boxes aren’t typically considered a form of gambling because theoretically you can’t transform the contents into real-world money.But Niks disagreed: “There are marketplaces where you can sell your virtual items and get cash back.“That’s how I, as a 12-year-old, was able to access all sorts of gambling online. It still exists now, and basically any child now can do it, like with their parents’ credit card ... they can easily get into gambling through video games, and nobody would know about it.” HuffPost UK reached out to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. A spokesperson told us: “It is essential that video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly with the appropriate protections in place for all players.”They didn’t mention whether loot boxes could become unavailable to children.In a 2022 call for evidence, it was found that loot boxes had been linked to mental health, financial and gambling-related harms.For Niks, loot boxes opened a door to years of gambling harmNiks stresses that he quit loot boxes at 13 – by then, his attention had been drawn to “highly addictive betting” through things like Esports.He used to see gambling ads all the time when watching online streams and Esports, he added, and a lot of his favourite gamers promoted gambling.“I was still managing to get access to gambling because I could purchase in-game items [through my winnings],” he explained. He could then sell these.Describing his childhood gambling harm as “isolating”, Niks added: “When I went to school, I would just be on my phone all the time, I would be thinking about my next bet, or I would place bets.”This meant he “failed” his GSCEs. But his gambling “really took off” when he reached university and had access to student loans. “I was spending basically all of my money on gambling,” the student added – he noted that he lost 25kg in his first three months away from home due to not spending money on food.By the end of his second year, Niks said he managed to find support through the charity Breakeven, which guided him to therapy and eventually residential rehabilitation.Now, he is in his final year of university and has not gambled for almost a year. He’s set to graduate in a couple of monthsChildren’s gambling isn’t easy to spot – the onus should be on regulators insteadI asked Niks if there were any signs parents should watch out for in kids, but he doesn’t think that’s the most useful approach. “There are no easy signs,” he told me. In his case, he wasn’t sleeping much, was constantly on his phone, and seemed anxious, but “nobody would think that gambling” was behind what some might see as typical teen behaviour. According to Algamus Recovery, some common signs of gambling addiction in children include “lying about gambling, borrowing money from friends or family, and neglecting responsibilities like schoolwork or household chores”.“We should focus on prevention rather than looking for signs because there are no signs really,” Niks added. “You can’t tell a parent there’s a list of signs, and if you tick those boxes, your child might be gambling ... there’s no way to know.“Really, it’s more about pushing for more regulation and prevention.” Those regulations and preventions shouldn’t be limited to loot boxes – Niks described gambling advertising that he felt was targeted to young people and outright betting in games, too.But it wouldn’t be a bad place to start.Help and support:GambleAware is a research-backed support organisation that provides information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling harms. They are available 24/7 on both freephone 0808 8020 133 or via their free and confidential live chat.Related...This Childhood Experience Is More Harmful Than You Might ThinkI Was A 'Problem Child'. Here Are 3 Parenting Rules I Now Swear ByWhy That Cute AI Trend Isn't Worth Your Child's Privacy

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