One in six children steal money to pay for video game loot boxes

Around one in six children steal money from their parents to pay for video game loot boxes – in-game'treasure chests' that award players random virtual prizes. In a survey of British teen and young adult gamers, Gambling Health Alliance (GHA) found 15 per cent had taken money from parents without permission to buy loot boxes. Overall, one in ten – 11 per cent – had used their parents' credit or debit cards to fund their loot box purchases, while 9 per cent had borrowed money they couldn't repay for the addictive in-game feature. Three young gamers' loot box buying habits resulted in their families having to re-mortgage their homes to cover the costs, according to the study. GHA is currently putting pressure on the UK government to class loot boxes in video games as a form of gambling.