Half of children who play games in the UK spent money on them last month

Regulator Ofcom has found that 53% of UK children aged 8–17 who game had spent money while playing in the past month.

The figure comes from Ofcom’s 2025 research into persuasive design and children’s online spending, which the regulator included on Tuesday (13 October) in its Growing Up Gaming report.

Ofcom asked 2,084 children who had played games in the previous month whether they had spent money while gaming, using either their own money or someone else’s.

Of those children, 31% bought something directly within the game they were playing, and 21% bought something through a console store.

Some parents told Ofcom they control spending by using their own payment card to complete their children’s purchases. Ofcom said this approach can leave parents exposed when card details stay saved on a platform their child can access.

“About four years ago, my 10-year-old was going on my phone, he was playing a game in the back of the car, he spent over 400 pounds from my bank account. He didn’t even know, he just kept going with the game,” said one parent who took part in the research.

Other parents remove their card details after every purchase to block unauthorised spending, Ofcom said.

Ofcom’s Children and Parents Media Literacy tracker found that 51% of parents whose children game online worry about pressure to make in-game purchases.

Just under half (48%) of parents whose children play games set rules about spending.

Parents of older children set fewer gaming rules overall. 80% of parents of 13–17-year-olds set at least one rule, compared with 96% of parents of younger children.

Ofcom’s Parents Power Up campaign encourages parents to review purchasing permissions and parental controls on games and devices.

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