33,000 euros for gambling: Dad pays his son's gaming bill!

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When the tablet becomes a cash cow

A seven-year-old boy from Baden-Württemberg made purchases in a mobile game over a period of almost two years. Whether new game characters, items or exclusive features - he clicked on "Buy" over 1,200 times in total. The total: a whopping 33,748 euros. Payment was made conveniently via his father's Google Play account. What began as a small game turned into a financial nightmare for the family.

The court: "Dad allowed it - even if he didn't know!"

As the tech portal GOLEM reports, the Karlsruhe Regional Court (case number 2 O 64/23) has now ruled: The father must pay. This is because he had given his son the tablet over a period of around 20 months - without a PIN, without parental controls, without restrictions. Unfortunately, the father had saved his credit card details for previous purchases and so all of his son's clicks were simply billed.

The court ruled: The father had given the impression through his behavior that the son was entitled to go shopping. In legal jargon, this is known as "prima facie authority". This means that anyone who allows someone to regularly act on their behalf is also liable for their actions - whether intentionally or not.

The kicker: he should have noticed the large number of purchases. A quick check of the monthly statement would have been enough. Instead, the costs went through the roof for almost two years.

A ruling that affects all parents

The verdict is clear: anyone who gives their child a smartphone or tablet bears full responsibility - including financial responsibility. Especially if no technical hurdles such as password prompts or locks have been installed. The same standards apply in the digital world as in the real world: If you leave the front door open, don't be surprised if someone walks in.

What does this mean in concrete terms? Anyone who stores their credit card details on a device must ensure that no unsupervised purchases are possible. Children are quick to click - and in-app purchases are often designed to be seductively easy. There's only one thing to do: understand the technology, adjust the settings and check them regularly.

Comment: How could this not be noticed?

In all honesty, anyone who hands their seven-year-old child a tablet with an open credit card should not be surprised at the bill. Of course you feel sorry for the father - but ignorance is no defense against responsibility. And the fact that an additional credit card charge of around 1500 euros a month over such a long period of time goes unnoticed is quite strange.

What is even more glaring, however, is how little awareness many parents have of how quickly a mountain of debt can pile up from 99-cent purchases. Perhaps in-app purchases should be blocked by default unless an adult explicitly agrees. After all, digital follies often remain very real debts.