Concerning effects of FIFA video game: reckless spending and children stealing money
Children who play the FIFA football video game could be facing a lifetime of gambling addiction, experts warned on Saturday.
According to the Daily Mail, players have lost thousands of pounds to get star footballers for their online teams.
The latest version of Fifa, the UK’s best-selling videogame was launched by developer EA Sports this weekend. But the NHS and a coalition of health organisations warned that the game is teaching children to gamble.
Why are children stealing money to play FIFA’s video game?
The video game contains a feature where users can buy player packs that cost up to £80. The actual rewards in those packs are randomized, so buying them includes simply relying on luck, much like gambling.
Research suggests about one in four children end up addicted to buy player packs to boost their chance of success on the game. Moreover, one in six children say they have stolen their parents’ money to buy players, with detrimental, life-altering effects to families.
Loot or luck boxes appear in many online videogames, but they pose extra danger in a game as popular as FIFA, which enjoys a worldwide fanbase.
Health experts explain that being addicted to these luck boxes in a child’s formative years can lead to a real gambling addiction and other unhealthy habits in their adult life.
The Government, says Daily Mail, is under pressure to ban the box’s use by under-18s, as has already happened in Belgium and the Netherlands.
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