Kids as young as FOUR offered highly addictive casino-style games by Apple, Google and Facebook
In-app purchases can mean children run up huge bills on their parents' credit cards
HIGHLY addictive casino-style gambling games are being offered to children as young as four by Apple, Google and Facebook.
Hundreds of free-to-play games, which include roulette, poker and slots, feature popular cartoon characters and are rated appropriate for youngsters aged 12.
Apple's app store even rates some games suitable for four-year-olds, including one said to be the most "addictive coin pusher game ever".
Through the games' in-app purchases, addicted kids can run up huge bills on their parents' credit cards. One game invites players to buy up to £179 of virtual coins, an investigation by has revealed.
Tim Miller, executive director of the Gambling Commission, which regulates the licensed sector, told the paper that the "casino-style" games risk being normalised for a generation of children.
He said: "They hare highly accessible and attractive to children.
"Some of these products are exposing children to gambling type activities - spinning a roulette wheel, playing a slot machine, games of chance - without any of the warnings or protections that licensed gambling operators are required to provide."
Through iPhones and iPads, Apple offers 200 free casino-style games, 177 of which it says are appropriate for children.
On Facebook, youngsters have access to 70 casino-type games without any age ratings. Users are said to be 13 and over, but few age checks mean children can claim they are older to use the app.
Google offers 250 of the casino games with most said to be suitable for over-12s.
Apple's own rating system warns that some of the games it rates suitable for children include "intense simulated gambling", "mild sexual content" and "mild alcohol, tobacco or drug use references".
The games include Monopoly Slots, which offers users "thrilling free slot games with huge coin payouts".
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Another is Coin Mania, available on Apple's online store, and rated suitable for four year olds.
The most popular arcade-style casino game is Coin Dozer, which both Apple and Google say is appropriate for children. As well as coin-push game, it also encourages players to "spin the slots and win the jackpot".
Facebook told the Telegraph: "The safety of young people on Facebook is our priority and we have clear policies in place for app developers, who are required to follow the law in the countries they operate in. We work closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure our platform fully complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines in the UK."
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