The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) urged parents to keep a careful watch of the serious dangers of gambling activities associated with playing video games. The Commission posted a special warning to parents after it published its position paper of “Virtual currencies, eSports and social casino gaming”.
The Chief Executive Officer of the UK gambling regulatory body Sarah Harrison commented on the regulator’s call, saying that the fact that parents could be actually fully unaware that their children could use the money they give them not to play a computer game, but to gamble. According to Ms. Harrison, placing bets on eSport offering in-game items becomes more and more popular among users, and it is a UKGC obligation to make sure that gambling operations in the country are fair, transparent, crime-free, safe and of course that under-aged and vulnerable individuals are well-protected.
Ms. Harrison also explained that unlicensed websites offered gambling options under the form of popular video games, which is extremely dangerous for all players, and especially for the under-aged ones. The UKGC’s boss did not hesitate to assure everyone that the Commission is ready to take all necessary actions in order to protect such players.
The above-mentioned paper contains the UK main regulatory authority’s view of the issues, explaining that the popularity of unregulated offshore gambling websites that provide users with the chance to place wagers on the outcome of video game tournaments with in-game items has become increasingly popular lately. As revealed by the UK Gambling Commission, the global skins gambling market’s value was estimated to between $3.9 billion and $5.1 billion in 2016, according to a US report.
A large number of these third-party websites are not legal to date. In February 2017, the UK Gambling Commission brought a prosecution, as a result of which two men were convicted for running illegal gambling website parasitic upon FIFA computer games.
The position paper published by the Commission includes a survey showing that 8.5% of people have placed wagers on eSports. Also, according to the data released, a total of 90% of those who wagered had done so with in-game items.
The released paper was backed by the Government, especially by the member of the British Conservative Party and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Tracey Crouch. Ms. Crouch commented on the paper, saying that all forms of online gambling must be properly regulated, and that children and vulnerable people protection is an issue of paramount priority.
She also described eSports as a phenomenon that increases both its market share and influence every day and has found a large number of customers, which is why unlicensed websites should be stopped. Ms. Crouch praised the UK Gambling Commission for its efforts to protect under-aged players and more vulnerable people by prosecuting such websites and warning parents about the risks associated with such websites.
- Author
Daniel Williams
