Loot boxes and gambling

1. Save 1-800-MY-RESET

   On your phone · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   The national number changed. The National Problem Gambling Helpline, run by the National Council on Problem Gambling, is call or text 1-800-MY-RESET, or chat at ncpgambling.org. It is free, confidential, and 24/7. NCPG adopted it on Jan 29, 2026, and 1-800-522-4700 will remain active. Adoption will vary by jurisdiction. 1-800-GAMBLER is now run by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey: free, confidential assistance 24/7 by call or text. A court ordered NCPG to stop managing 1-800-GAMBLER after Sep 29, 2025. You'll still see 1-800-GAMBLER in ads and apps. In New York, the NY Attorney General's release lists HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369), or text HOPENY (467369).

   1. Save 1-800-MY-RESET in your phone. You can call or text.
   2. If an ad says 1-800-GAMBLER, that line is the New Jersey council's, and it still answers.
   3. In New York, you can also call 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY to 467369.
   National Problem Gambling Helpline (NCPG)

2. Turn on purchase approval everywhere your child can spend

   On your phone · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   Most loot-box spending goes through a store. Apple Ask to Buy is on by default under 13, and in some regions it is on and locked until 18. Google Play purchase and download approvals apply only to purchases made through Google Play's billing system. You can require approval for all content, all family-payment purchases, or only in-app purchases. Xbox Ask to Buy covers Xbox and Windows, not mobile games. PlayStation's monthly spending limit is 0 by default for child accounts. Steam Families uses purchase requests paid by an adult, and Steam requires users to be 13 or older. Nintendo Account spending restrictions are on or off only. Nintendo says no restrictions are applied by default, and they are set on the Nintendo Account, not in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app. A support answer is described as suggesting a set eShop balance instead of a monthly cap. We didn't re-read that sentence ourselves, so check Nintendo support answer 45226 before you rely on a balance tip. Approval doesn't stop gift cards, cash given to a friend, a parent's saved card, or spending on websites. Google says content restrictions don't prevent restricted content as a search result or through a direct link.

   1. Turn on Ask to Buy, Play purchase approvals, Xbox Ask to Buy, and Steam purchase requests for every account your child uses.
   2. On PlayStation, leave the monthly spending limit at 0 unless you choose another number.
   3. On a Nintendo Account, open spending restrictions. Don't look for them only in the Switch parental controls app.
   4. Remove saved cards from shared devices.
   Ask to Buy (Apple)

3. Look for the random-items notice before you buy

   Both of you together · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   The ESRB notice In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items) means paid offers where the player doesn't know the specific digital goods beforehand, including loot boxes, gacha, item or card packs, prize wheels, and treasure chests. The plain In-Game Purchases notice means purchases without random items. The random-items notice was announced on April 13, 2020. Games rated before that will likely not display it. Simulated Gambling means gambling without betting real cash. Real Gambling is only in Adults Only 18+ games. The ESRB says Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Apple, and Google require publishers to disclose loot-box drop rates. Apple's App Review rule says apps with loot boxes must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item prior to purchase. Microsoft's and Sony's own rule text wasn't checked beyond the ESRB's summary.

   1. Check the store listing or esrb.org before a new game.
   2. Treat a 2020-or-later game without the random-items notice as still worth a look at the store description.
   3. Read the odds screen in the game before anyone buys a loot box.
   In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items) (ESRB)

4. Set an app-store age rating that blocks gambling apps

   On your phone · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   On the US App Store, loot boxes are 9+ (16+ in Australia), infrequent simulated gambling is 13+ (R 18+ in Australia), and frequent simulated gambling or real-money gambling is 18+. Apple and Google require real-money gambling apps to be licensed, geo-restricted, and free to download. Google Play requires them to prevent access for minors, and bans gambling ads to users known to be under 18. Ratings don't cover websites. A 9+ loot-box game is still a loot-box game.

   1. On iPhone: Settings, Family, your child, Content & Privacy Restrictions, Apps, and pick an age rating.
   2. On Android: Family Link, Google Play content restrictions.
   3. Say no to exceptions for 18+ gambling or social-casino apps.
   Age ratings values and definitions (Apple)

5. Treat tradable skins as money

   In a browser · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   In 2016 Valve said it has no business relationships with skin-gambling sites, and that using the OpenID API and making the same web calls as Steam users to run a gambling business is not allowed. On Feb 25, 2026, the New York Attorney General sued Valve. She alleges that loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2 are illegal gambling, that the process resembles a slot machine, that skins can be sold online for money, and that Valve facilitates third-party marketplaces. Those are allegations in an ongoing case. Later case status isn't confirmed here. The Attorney General also says Valve has received hundreds of thousands of support requests about hacked accounts or users tricked into transferring items. In January 2025 the FTC said the Genshin Impact developer agreed to pay $20 million and to stop selling loot boxes to under-16s without a parent's consent. Steam's family controls don't block websites. Whether skin-gambling sites still operate through Steam logins today wasn't confirmed.

   1. Turn on Steam Families purchase requests, and the store, community, and chat restrictions.
   2. Treat a Steam login on an unfamiliar site as a stop-and-talk moment.
   3. Use a web filter for browser sites. Purchase approval will not see them.
   New York Attorney General: Valve lawsuit (Feb 25, 2026)

6. Check whether sweepstakes casinos are illegal where you live

   In a browser · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   These look like free casino games, but coins can be redeemed for cash or gift cards. New York's Attorney General and Gaming Commission stopped 26 platforms in 2025. In December 2025, Governor Hochul signed New York's formal ban on sweepstakes casinos into law. A 2026 settlement with VGW (Chumba Casino, Global Poker, Luckyland Slots) was $8 million. New Jersey P.L. 2025, c.128 says a paid sweepstakes a New Jersey resident can enter shall constitute unlawful gambling, including dual-currency systems, with narrow exceptions. It was approved Aug 15, 2025, and effective immediately. California AB 831, chaptered October 2025, prohibits online games that simulate gambling with a dual-currency system leading to cash prizes. It does not make a game that does not award cash prizes unlawful. Illinois sent 60 or more cease-and-desist letters on Feb 5, 2026. That is enforcement under existing criminal law. We found no new Illinois law that specifically bans sweepstakes casinos. New York's bill sponsor said Connecticut, Montana, and Nevada had already enacted similar bans, along with New Jersey and California. Check those states' own pages for the details. Everywhere else varies, and other states' 2026 actions weren't confirmed on official pages. The NY Attorney General warns these casinos are not subject to audits, so players have no way of knowing whether games are rigged.

   1. If you live in New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Montana, or Nevada, treat sweepstakes casinos as banned and ask your state for the current rule.
   2. In Illinois, treat them as under cease-and-desist enforcement, not as a new statute we found.
   3. In any other state, check your gaming regulator or attorney general before you assume they are legal.
   New York Attorney General: sweepstakes casinos

7. Know the betting age in your state, and lock up your own ID

   Both of you together · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026

   Betting apps check ID, so kids get in with an adult's account. In New York, mobile sports-betting account holders must confirm they are at least 21 (9 NYCRR 5330.37). In New Hampshire, state law requires age checks to block sports wagers by people under 18, and an authorized bettor is 18 or older and physically in New Hampshire. New Hampshire also requires licensed apps to offer daily, weekly, and monthly wager limits and a voluntary self-exclusion program. Other states set their own rules. A full state-by-state list isn't here. No parental control stops an adult lending an account. Prediction-market apps such as Kalshi aren't covered here.

   1. Look up your state's betting age on the state gaming commission's site.
   2. Log out of your own betting apps and don't share passwords.
   3. Lock up IDs and cards.
   New Hampshire RSA 287-I:7

How we check lists what was left off Loot boxes and gambling.