Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will take steps to cap the amount of money players can spend on in-game purchases in video games.

The government is aware of concerns around the potential for excessive spending in games, particularly by young people. These concerns are discussed in the recent DCMS Select Committee report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies. We are currently considering the Report and its recommendations and will respond in due course.

We continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies to encourage the use of parental controls that can disable or limit spending on devices, and welcomed the launch in January 2020 of the games industry’s Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. campaign encouraging parents to use parental controls and take an active role in their children’s gaming.