大象传媒

An illegal gambling website approached Jolyon Jenkins's teenage son to make a Youtube video promoting it. They promised to rig it so he would definitely win.

The site was a loot box site with a difference. Instead of virtual items to be used in video games, it offered real world prizes like gaming consoles, smartphones and hoverboards. The loot box experience has become so familiar to youngsters from gaming that sites like this are a natural extension. It's clearly a form of gambling and is covered by UK gambling law. The website in question needed, but didn't have, a licence from the UK Gambling Commission. It has promoted itself to youngsters via young Youtube 鈥渋nfluencers鈥�. Presenter Jolyon Jenkins's 17 year old son is himself a successful Youtuber. He was approached by the website to make a video promoting them. They wanted to commission him to make a misleading video that showed him winning as if by chance, even though he was told that they would carry on topping up his funds until he was successful. 鈥淵ou spin till you win鈥�, they said. He agreed to go along with this and ended up 鈥渨inning鈥� some expensive items. The company was aware he was under 18 but said this didn鈥檛 matter.

The UK Gambling Commission gave contradictory advice about the site, raising the question of whether it is up to speed with this new kind of gambling; and trying to find out who owned, operated, and licensed the company took Jenkins to Spain, Ireland, and ultimately - in the next programme - the Caribbean.

Presenter/Producer: Jolyon Jenkins