Video game add-ons risk turning a generation of kids into gambling addicts, say health chiefs – The Sun

COMPUTER game add-ons risk turning a generation of kids into gambling addicts, say health chiefs.

Some games let players use virtual and real money to buy “loot boxes” containing random prizes.

The prizes might change a user’s in-game appearance, or boost gameplay.

Some prizes can be gambled for more valuable ones — or even sold for real cash at an online exchange.

A report by the Royal Society for Public Health wants under-18s’ games to be gambling-free, and some add-ons to be classed as gambling.

Some 93 per cent of Brits aged 11-24 play video games, an RSPH poll found. A total of 40 per cent buy loot boxes, and 58 per cent see it as a form of highly addictive gambling.

The global loot box market is worth an estimated £20billion.

The report warns: “The blurring of boundaries between an activity undertaken by the vast majority of young people and gambling also creates concern that it could become a normalised feature of their lives.”

RSPH chief Shirley Cramer added: “This is an area of wellbeing where the stakes are high but where a public health approach can prevent the cost of gambling harms being passed to future generations.”

The National Problem Gambling Clinic this year expanded its care to children.

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And the number of gambling-related admissions to hospital has hit record highs.

The Government said they are “committed to protecting young people from gambling-related harm” and take concerns about loot boxes “very seriously”.

Pupils will be taught about the risks of online gambling through the new curriculum from 2020, the spokesman added.

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