In-game Purchases: Protections for Children

Lord Watts Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The noble Baroness correctly identifies that sometimes our debate does not necessarily keep up with developments. One of the major protections we have in place is the Online Safety Act, which applies to online services that allow users to share content and interact with each other. As I have said in previous responses, the Government keep up to date with developments and keep all options under review.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, is it not the case that gamblers face bigger problems from offshore unregulated sites? What will the Government do to make sure that those are held accountable, given that there has been a massive growth in recent years on such sites?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My noble friend is referring to what we are doing to tackle the illegal market. As Members of your Lordships’ House will be aware, as part of the Budget the Treasury announced an increase for remote duty but at the same time increased funding to tackle the illegal market. We will be working with the licensed sector on how we increase enforcement—obviously, this will be led by the Gambling Commission—to make sure that we focus on tackling the illegal market, which is an element of the risk that people associate with online activity.