Dangerous play: how online gaming purchases led an Australian youth into a secret gambling addiction

From September, updated Australian computer game classification guidelines will require games involving in-game purchases such as paid loot boxes to receive a minimum classification of M (mature). Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

Vincent* didn’t know his 20-year-old son Matthew* was gambling until he took a phone call from him as he stood on a cliff’s edge after racking up thousands of dollars of debt.

Matthew was crying and revealed a gambling problem which had begun years earlier with online gaming, causing increasing debt. Matthew had opened up to another family member earlier that evening, who made him feel more ashamed, calling him an idiot.