Yesterday the UK Gambling Commission called on ,ore parental control, and for parents to be aware of the risk of underage and unlicensed gambling relating to video games and esports.

The warning follows the issue of the UKGC paper on virtual currencies, esports and social gaming which ESI will provide further comment on at a later date.

The paper touches on the unregulated skin-betting industry which allows anyone to wager their in-game items on the outcome of their favourite teams. The Narus Advisors report suggests the industry would have taken $7.4bn (£6bn) of wagers in 2016 had Valve not issued Cease & Desist orders to certain companies.

Not only is the industry unregulated in a gambling sense but there’s also little to no age verification therefore making illegal, underage betting a significant problem. UKGC CEO Sarah Harrison said: “Mums and dads could be giving away money to a child thinking they are playing a computer game when in fact they’re gambling and this is a real worry”.

More on the UK Gambling Commission call on parents at eSports Insider