Money and spending in games

Choices about spending

Many games include ways to spend money — and it’s not always obvious when it’s happening.

This page helps you make practical choices about spending.

Match spending choices to fit your young person’s skills as they grow in confidence and self-control.

'Free' is not always free

Sometimes spending pressure comes from the game. Sometimes it comes from another player.

A ‘free skin’, gift, trade, or reward can be used to create pressure, trust, or urgency.

A simple rule that often helps is: if it feels rushed, secretive, or too good to be true, stop and check first.

What is 'spending' in games?

Spending isn't always a single 'buy' button. It can show up in different ways:

In-game purchases (skins/cosmetics, upgrades, items, extra levels)
Virtual currency (buying coins/gems/points first, then spending those)
Battle passes / subscriptions (ongoing payments for rewards or access)
Random rewards (loot boxes / packs where you don’t know what you’ll get)
Ads (common in free games — some games offer a paid version to reduce ads, but ads can’t always be switched off)
Pay-to-skip timers (pressure to pay to avoid waiting)
Gifting/trading (items exchanged with other players)

Ways whānau may choose to manage spending in games

There isn’t one right answer.

These are common set-ups families use depending on the game, the young person, and what’s happening at home.

Can fit when: your young person is new to gaming, impulse control is still developing, or you want to keep the game simple and predictable.

What this can look like:

Purchases blocked at device/console/platform level.
No saved card details.
A simple whānau rule that “free games stay free”.

Watch for: frustration if their friends are buying extras — or if they start chasing 'free' offers, trades, or rewards that feel rushed, secretive, or too good to be true.

Can fit when: your young person is ready to practise decision-making with support, and you want spending to be intentional (not reactive).

What this can look like:

A set limit (e.g., monthly amount, or a one-off purchase).
Adult approval for every purchase.
Spending separated from play (“We decide purchases when you’re not mid-game”).
Using gift-card balances instead of a stored card

Watch for: time-limited offers, repeated pop-ups, or “pay to keep up” pressure — if this is happening a lot, see Time & game design.

Can fit when: your rangatahi understands digital money, can pause before buying, and will talk with you if something feels off.

What this can look like:

A pre-agreed budget they manage.
Regular check-ins (not surprise audits).
Clear boundaries around randomised purchases, gifting, trading, and ‘free item’ offers from other players
A plan for what happens if spending gets out of balance

Watch for: gifting/trading pressure, 'free skins' messages, or anyone trying to rush them, make it awkward to say no, or ask them to click something. If this is happening, tighten contact settings — see Playing with others.

Where are the controls?

Spending controls can sit in different places: the device, the console/platform account, and inside the game.

If you can’t find a control for something (like ads or random rewards), treat that as useful information about whether the game is the right fit right now.

Adjusting over time

If your young person asks to spend money, it can help to treat it as a decision you make outside the moment, rather than while they’re excited or under pressure.

Some ways whānau do this:

Pause first: “Let’s decide after this session (or tomorrow).”
Start small: try one planned purchase rather than opening ongoing spending
Separate wants from needs: “Is this making the game more fun, or just harder to resist?”
Set a review point: “Let’s try this for a month and check how it went.”

Safeguards you could use

You don’t need perfect rules — a few practical guardrails can reduce surprises.

Remove saved payment details wherever you can (so buying isn’t one-tap).
Turn on approval prompts where available so purchases are less likely to happen by accident.
Use gift cards or top-ups to cap spending (instead of open-ended cards).
Check spend history occasionally together so it stays transparent.
Turn off or limit gifting and trading if the game allows it.
Make a simple whānau rule that gifts, trades, and ‘free rewards’ from other players get checked first, not accepted in the moment.

Skills to build over time

These are the key knowledge points and skills that help young people make good spending choices even when games apply pressure.

Knowing that virtual money is still real money even when it looks like coins, gems, or points
Pausing before buying, trading, or accepting a reward (stepping out of urgency is a skill).
Recognising pressure tactics like timers, pop-ups, ‘limited-time’ offers, ‘you’ll miss out’, or being rushed by another player.
Spotting when ‘free’ is really pressure (especially if it comes with urgency, secrecy, or strings attached).
Budgeting including asking what else that money could be for this week or month.
Asking for help early if something feels confusing, rushed, or too good to be true.
Asking for help early if something feels confusing or rushed

Practise together

Make sure purchases can't happen by accident — and your young person knows what to do when spending prompts, gifts, or reward offers appear.

Find it: Ask your young person to show you where purchases show up in the game, like the store, pop-ups, currency, gifting, or trading.
Check the barrier: Make sure buying requires an approval step (password/prompt) or is blocked depending on your current approach.
Check the rule: Agree what they will do if someone offers a gift, trade or 'free reward' — pause, do not click, and check with you first.
Review together: If available, check where purchase history or receipts show up on the device or platform.

If something's gone wrong

If money has been spent unexpectedly, or your young person seems under pressure to buy, trade, or accept rewards, it can help to:

Pause spending features by tightening settings, removing card details, or blocking purchases for now
Stop any gifting, trading, or reward claim process until you have checked what happened
Save what you can, like screenshots of prompts or messages, receipts, usernames, links, or anything they were asked to click
Reset calmly and focus on what will prevent it next time, not blame
Get support — go to the app's Getting Help page.

Contact the Netsafe helpline for advice if your young person has been pressured, scammed, or targeted through game messages.