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With the the country in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, experts are predicting more and more children will be using gaming consoles and video games to fill their time with all UK schools now closed.
In-Game Purchases
British Charities are concerned children will be spending far more time playing games such as Fifa, Fortnite and Minecraft where in-game purchases can be made. Parents are concerned gaming companies behind these games will be deliberately encouraging children to make in-game purchases.In-game purchases have become much more popular over the last few years, the downloadable games can be subject to updates of new content or purchases at anytime. Each update or purchase comes at a cost to parents as their children’s accounts are often linked to their debit cards. Even games deemed as free often come with ‘special offer features’ or extra incentives which come at a cost.
Huge Bills
The fact children are spending more time playing these games, there’s a fear they may purchase more in-game extras without their parents knowledge which could rack up huge debts. Once these purchases have been made, it would be extremely difficult to claim back monies children have spent without their parents knowledge.Operators of these games have defended in-game purchasing with the argument parents have parental and technology controls to block payments, to ensure their children do not make unauthorised transactions. In 2019, the NSPCC survey shows only one in five parents actively used these controls. Parents complained they were unable to use these controls on mobile phones connected to the Internet.A campaign was launched in January 2020, the Get Smart About Play campaign is aimed at giving parents information on controls to stop unauthorized in-game purchasing.