Denmark’s Gambling Authority has launched a public awareness campaign highlighting gambling-like mechanics in video games aimed at children. The initiative, called “Casino in the Children’s Room”, encourages parents to look beyond screen time and consider how in-game rewards, randomised prizes and purchases may affect young players.
Unveiled on 26 October, the campaign seeks to draw attention to features that resemble traditional gambling, including loot boxes, random reward systems and in-game purchases. Although these mechanics appear within video games rather than conventional gambling platforms, the regulator wants families to understand their potential influence on children’s behaviour.
Anders Dorph, director of the Danish Gambling Authority, said discussions about children’s digital habits should address not only how long they spend playing but also the content and reward mechanisms they encounter.
A Virtual Casino Comes to the Children’s Room
The campaign uses a short film that transforms a child’s bedroom into a casino, visually illustrating how gambling-style imagery and mechanics can appear in games marketed to younger audiences.
The authority is also directing parents to StyrPåSpillet.dk, an information platform covering gaming, gambling-like features, addiction risks and practical ways to discuss gaming habits with children.
To extend the campaign beyond digital channels, temporary casino-themed shopfront displays have been installed at three locations: Bruuns Galleri in Aarhus, Vestergade in Odense and Købmagergade in Copenhagen.
The installations, branded “Casino Kids”, are designed to encourage parents and passers-by to question whether games played by children contain mechanics associated with gambling.
Research Raises Concerns about Future Behaviour
Denmark’s initiative follows growing international attention to the potential relationship between gambling-like video game features and later gambling behaviour.
A Swedish gambling regulator report published in the previous year found an association between exposure to gambling through video games during childhood and risky gambling behaviours in adulthood. The report highlighted that 87% of adults who had purchased loot boxes before the age of 15 displayed risky gambling behaviours as adults.
The findings underline why regulators are increasingly examining the design of games, rather than focusing exclusively on traditional gambling products.
Wider Restrictions on Gambling Advertising
The campaign also comes amid renewed legislative efforts in Denmark to restrict gambling advertising targeting minors. The government has resubmitted a bill previously introduced in October 2025.
Proposed measures include restrictions on advertising during live sports broadcasts and rules preventing people under 25 from appearing in gambling advertisements.
The package has attracted criticism from parts of the gambling industry, which have raised concerns about the proposed restrictions.
For Denmark’s regulator, however, the campaign adds a public education component to the wider policy debate. Its message is that protecting children requires parents to understand not only the amount of time spent gaming, but also the psychological mechanisms built into the games themselves.
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