Online Gaming
What you can do
Gaming should be enjoyable and on your terms. Family and friends can help children to stay safe and have fun while gaming.
Helping each other to get ahead of the game
As a parent or carer, what you say and do has the strongest impact on your child’s attitudes and behaviours towards gambling.
Making informed choices about gaming and gambling
Help children to make informed choices about what games are best to play and how spending can be managed while online.
- You don’t have to be an expert to talk to your child about online gaming and gambling
- The best way to prevent gambling harm for your child is to promote open, caring and respectful discussions as early as possible
- If it works for you (and your family) set some healthy boundaries and review or change them over time
Choosing Games
- Choose games with fewer gambling options when possible
- Discuss age ratings and why certain games may not be appropriate
- Observe your child playing or play games together
Choosing How Money is Spent
- Set clear spending limits for in-game purchases
- Require permission before any gaming-related purchases
- Use gift cards rather than linked credit cards to maintain spending control
- Regularly review game spending to track actual costs
- Identify and turn off in-app purchases
- Setup up parental control settings
- Block gambling advertising
- Remove credit card details from gaming consoles and devices to limit accidental or unauthorised spending
Practical tools
Common Types of Gambling
Identify the gambling-like features in games and understand how they work
Steps to Reduce Risk
Practical ways to setup parental controls and limits to help manage gambling-like features in games