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British bank TSB has launched an educational module in schools to highlight the importance of controlled spending within popular gaming platforms, as it publishes gamer spend info in a new study.
The poll of 2,001 gamers conducted by Censuswide for TSB in November 2024 revealed that gamers spend £540 a year on average, through a combination of in-game purchases (£22 a month) and subscriptions (£23 a month).
The average spend of an initial game purchase is £32. These amounts represent the mean pounds per month (excluding ‘not sure’ and ‘N/A’ in the survey).
The survey found that half (52%) of respondents who spend money in-game and have overspent have had to cut back on daily spending. And almost half (47%) of gamers surveyed who spend money in-game feel out of control of their spending, when playing video games.
TSB also surveyed non-gamers and found almost three in five (57%) intended to gift a game this Christmas. Although, over a third (36%) were unaware that games can come with in-game spending options – meaning many parents and those gifting games are unaware of the additional fees they could accrue over the year.
The bank also found that spend has increased in one popular title by 85% in five years.
The gaming sector is worth £7.82bn in the UK, according to Ukie’s 2023 Consumer Market Valuation Report, with 10.4m users, according to Uswitch.
Top 6 family gaming tips from Andy Robertson
TSB has teamed up with gaming expert, Andy Robertson, author of the Taming Gaming book, to highlight some of the purchases that could lead to households racking up a hefty, unexpected bill – as Robertson advises parents to set up spending limits and controls before gifting consoles this Christmas.
Robertson informs parents that gamers can spend double the price of the game itself on additional content. For instance, he found ‘Sea of Thieves’, which costs £34.99 to purchase, has an option to spend £79.99 on additional adventures. He also highlights ‘Asphalt Legends’ which is free to download, but gamers can spend £89.99 in one transaction.
TSB also recorded significant growth in popular platforms that sell games that include in-game spending options, such as Epic, where spend increased by 85 per cent in five years, followed by Fortnite (59%), Roblox (57%) and Steam games (19%).
Andy’s top six tips are:
- Ensure that spending limits are set up on consoles, that way you will never go above your set limit
- Set up child accounts that require a PIN to spend money on in-game purchases
- Use resources like the Family Gaming Database to source games that don’t have additional spending options
- Oversee your child’s gaming – and join in with them to understand the platforms they’re interacting with and whether purchases are good value
- Have open conversations about spending in-game, as this can also be a valuable way of understanding the value of real-world currency
- Before you wrap presents, set up the above controls and be ready to monitor and engage with your children
TSB’s schools programme helps tackle the problem signs of gaming
To raise awareness of the impact in-game spend can have on personal finances, with the help of Andy Robertson, TSB has added further education to its popular schools programme.
Delivered by TSB colleagues to schools with high pupil premiums, TSB’s schools programme provides insight and support to young people on how to manage their money including what to be aware of when gaming.
Nikkie Spencer, Director of IT, TSB, said:
“Gaming has many benefits to young people and for many it often leads to their first interaction with spending or managing their money. That’s why we’re in schools, raising awareness of in-game spending and helping young people stay in control and be more Money Confident.”
Nikkie Spencer, TSB
Andy Robertson, author and gaming expert, added: “I regularly advise parents on healthy family gaming, and an important part of this is understanding the potential for in-game spend. Especially how to avoid unexpected costs by ensuring the right controls are in place.
“Ahead of gifting a gaming console, it’s vital you download any updates, set-up user profiles for each child and implement spending limits. Then you’re all set to enjoy the games safely – without unexpected dents in your finances.”
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
