Skin gambling
Also known as:
- virtual gambling
- virtual betting
- skins
- NFTs
- loot boxes
What is Risk ?
Digital risk factors associated with their interests and activities
A skin is a form of decorative graphic found in online games. They are used to customise and personalise your game’s appearance.
Some sites allow skins to be gambled in casino-style games.
Games can involve games of chance, like roulette. Players deposit their skins, which are then converted into a balance of coins or jewels. These are used like chips in a casino.
If a player wins, their balance goes up. If they lose, their balance goes down. The balance can be used to buy skins or place more bets. Skins can also be sold on other third-party sites.
Skin gambling sites are unregulated, with no age verification. New sites open and close regularly, which makes monitoring them difficult.
Where this can happen
Risks and motivations
Risks
Underage gambling
Young people under 18 are being introduced to illegal gambling through gaming. Some gambling sites use popular games and gaming themes to be attractive to younger users.
These sites do not have age verification processes, and can encourage young people to recruit their peers.
Addiction
Exposure to gambling introduces a risk of developing a gambling habit. 18 to 24 year-olds are statistically more likely to engage in risky gambling behaviours.
Scamming
Unregulated sites generally have poor security and users might be more prone to scammers. Social media influencers can promote sites and appear to have regular big wins.
Sites make the odds very difficult to understand. Users might not know how much they are likely to win or lose.
Motivations
Motivations for young people can include:
- being introduced to skin gambling by a friend
- thinking they can make money
- testing their skills
PC gamers are particularly at risk because skin gambling is more normalised in PC games.
Young people’s voice
There’s websites that gamble skins... You put them on these websites and then there’s a chance to get a better skin or a worse skin, and you can lose loads of money on there. That’s basically just gambling, they just cover it up... cos you use the skins instead of currency.’
13-year-old
Skin gambling: teenage Britain’s secret habit, Parentzone, 2018
Going down to the casino and getting drunk at 4 o’clock in the morning, that would be my definition of gambling addiction, whereas someone else... they might define it as going on the game all the time and spending this amount of money ... I think that the problem with younger people is that we don’t actually know what it is and if you don’t know what it is, you can’t stop it.
15-year-old
Skin gambling: teenage Britain’s secret habit, Parentzone, 2018
What you can do
It can be helpful to explain the risks and negative consequences of gambling. It can help to try to understand their motivations for taking part.
Discussions might include:
- the lack of regulation which means there are no consumer protections in place
- the risks of developing an addictive relationship with gambling
- how odds work to help them to recognise the chances of winning and losing
- if a young person is experiencing money worries, it might be appropriate to signpost them to debt services
If you think that a young person is at risk, follow your safeguarding procedure and read our safeguarding guidance.
Support
Specialist services exist to help young people to recover from a gambling addiction.
Read more about skin gambling
Share your experience of skin gambling
You can tell us about:
- other terms you might have heard
- conversations you’ve had with young people
- a related platform or app
- another related risk or harm