’Skin gambling’ trend turns online fun to real-world loss for children

Following hints from young gamers, Parent Zone reveals a new online trend among children in the UK: skin gambling.

Sking gambling is the practice of betting on the outcome of professional matches using not money, but rather virtual goods in games (such as avatar skins, cosmetics and other in-game perks).

The ”Skins” vary in value and can be used to win or lose real money, depending on the bet made on third-party websites that ”accept’ them as currency. One 13-year-old boy told Parent Zone how he had traded to earn £2,000-worth of skins, only to lose most of them gambling.

The phenomenon has been growing in popularity over the last two years. Research shows that out of the 90% of 13-18 year-olds in the UK who play games online, 30% have heard of skin gambling.  Of all the children who have heard of skin gambling, 36% have gambled skins.

Overall, Parent Zone survey shows that 10% of children across the UK aged 13-18 say they have gambled skins in some form. This percentage amounts to approximately 448,744 children in the UK alone.

At the same time, ”the casino-style sites grew in popularity to the point now where one industry expert predicted the total global value of skins gambled in 2018 would reach over £10 billion” reveals the same report.

Since none of the platforms involved in the process of skin gambling violates existing legislation, parents must take full responsibility at the moment. As Parent Zone suggests, the first step is to be aware of the dangers: where and on what spend their children money, what websites they access (46% of children say they can bypass age verification tools of 18+ age rated sites) spot the warning signs and help children understand the difference between gaming and gambling.