Main Menu
News
Current
Top of Page
 
Top of Page
 
Top of Page
  | Home   | Index   | Info   | This Week   | Poker   | News   | Email
 
News

Welcome to the News desk.

Gambling Commission warns parents over gambling on video games 20/03/17
Editor
• The Gambling Commission is calling for parents to be vigilant to the dangers of gambling associated with video games.

The warning follows the publication of a Commission paper on virtual currencies, eSports and social gaming.

The paper explains there has been an increase in the popularity of unregulated third-party websites offering gamers the opportunity to gamble on the outcome of video game tournaments with in-game items such as decorative digital guns and knives (known as skins). One US report estimates the global skins gambling market was worth between $3.9bn and $5.1bn in 2016.

Many of these sites are illegal and last month the Commission carried out a first-of-its-kind prosecution of two men running a website parasitic upon popular FIFA computer games.

Gambling Commission CEO Sarah Harrison said: “Mums and dads could be giving money to a child thinking that they are playing a computer game when in fact they are gambling and this is a real worry.


“Gambling on eSports with in-game-items is growing and we need to make sure all gambling is fair, safe, crime-free and protects the young and vulnerable.”

The paper has received Government support: Tracey Crouch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has backed the Commission’s warning.

She said: “It is vital that any form of gambling online is properly regulated and paramount that we protect children and vulnerable people.

“eSports is a phenomenon that gets bigger every day and is enjoyed by millions, but it is a concern that there are unlicensed websites jumping on the back of popular video games and encouraging children to gamble.

“The Gambling Commission has shown that it will take action and prosecute but it is important that parents are vigilant too and know about this risk to their children.”

The paper features a survey which indicates 8.5% of people have gambled on eSports and 90% of those that gambled had done so with in-game items (skins).
 
Ms Harrison added: “These unlicensed websites are a hidden form of gambling – they’re parasites feeding off popular video games, presenting a clear and present danger to players including kids. Our prosecution last month demonstrates that we won’t hesitate to take action.”

We have to wonder however of the validity of the survey suggesting that 8.5% of adults have gambled on eSports. The most likely reasoning here is that people did not understand what eSports meant when questioned. If true then 8.5% of the adult population of the UK (about 50 million) is about 4.25 million people.

When reading the Gambling Commission's own statistics on gambling participation we see that only 4% of the population participated in sports betting so its highly unlikely that there are twice as many people gambling on eSports. The commission is reviewing how it gets these figures as they realise they are high.