[NewsPoster]

A 15-year-old from Antwerp, Belgium has managed to accumulate over 37,000 euro ($46,000) in iTunes charges on a credit card through in-app purchases, according to local publication Nieuwsblad. The teenager was reportedly playing a free-to-play iOS game called Game of War: Fire Age; several months in, his mother asked him to buy some e-books using her credit card. The boy then discovered he could buy virtual gold in-game using real money, greatly accelerating his progress. The title even has a casino minigame.

It's claimed that the charges went so high because it was possible to make single-tap purchases, and there was no indication of how much money was actually being spent in transactions, though critics are dubious of such claims. Many parents have complained about this aspect of iOS and the App Store; although Apple has taken some steps to improve the situation, incidents continue to occur. People are also becoming increasingly upset with "free-to-play" games in general, the more insidious of which are targeted at children, make no reference to real-world costs, and/or require in-app purchases -- rather than skill -- to advance.

In response, the Belgian Gaming Commission has called for stricter rules. In other countries, companies like Apple and Google have faced legal action over accusations of not doing enough to safeguard in-app purchases.

[jdonahoe]

What credit card other than maybe American Express gold card would even allow those charges to accumulate. Most people have a lot lower limit before the charges start being rejected. The parent and the teenager are both idiots. The kid knew exactly what he was doing.

[muadibe10]

I agree with jdonahoe. That kid is 15 and knew exactly what he was doing.

[thinkman]

He should be made to pay every penny of what he owes. He's not an (somewhat) innocent 10 year old! I too agree wholeheartedly with Jdonahoe!

[Charles Martin]

Unless this game wholly circumvents Apple's usual in-app purchase dialogs, the teenager is also lying. Every in-app purchase requires a sign-in AND puts up a confirmation dialog that spells out what you are buying, and how much you are spending.

[coffeetime]

Must be rich parent who can afford to give their son $40,000+ credit limit credit card. So rich they don't even bother to sue Apple.

[wireboy]

Exactly! It is a complete and outright lie to say that you are able to buy things without realizing what you are doing. We all have iPhones here. Have any of you EVER made an in-app purchase without realizing it? My six year old daughter once asked me to authorize a purchase of some virtual cheese for a virtual mouse and I entered my password without checking on exactly what I was buying. $25 worth of virtual cheese it seems. But that was the worst of it. I knew I was buying something and was a little lax about checking what it was. Neither I nor my kids have ever been tricked into buying something without realizing it by some insidious app and negligent operating system If you bought it, you bought it intentionally. Period.

[chimaera]

How come we never hear the surprise success stories?

Teen surprises parents with $46K of in-app sales. Needy parents get to keep their home after all.

Before the .com crash, we did have the occasional teen millionaires. Build the better mousetrap, collect the dough as it rolls in.

[just a poster]

$46,000 for digital currency evaporated in an online gambling game, wherein one cannot convert winnings to real currency. Amazing anyone can defend this "business" practice as anything but outright immorality.