Spending and Staying in Control

Free play is free until it is not. Social casino apps cost nothing to download and give away coins, but they make their money by selling more coins inside the game, and the store is built to make buying quick and easy. This section covers where that money goes, the tools that cap it, how to get money back when a purchase goes wrong, and the signs that it is time to step back.

Where does the money go in a free casino app?

The only real money in a social casino is the money you pay in. Coins can never be cashed out, sold or turned back into dollars, which is explained on our page about why coins have no cash value. Whatever you spend on a coin pack is spent on entertainment, the same as a movie ticket.

Both app stores flag this on the listing. Google Play shows “In-app purchases” under the app name and the App Store shows “In-App Purchases” next to the price. On Google Play in Canada, the age rating panel can also carry the Entertainment Software Rating Board label “In-Game Purchases”, which the ESRB ratings guide says covers offers to buy virtual coins and other in-game currency with real money.

The coin store is designed to sell. Our guide to how coin stores price and push offers walks through price ladders, “best value” tags, countdown timers and offers tailored to how you play. For what a pack costs once tax is added, see what buying coins gets you, and for how VIP status ties into store offers, see levels, XP and VIP tiers.

What if you want your money back?

If you paid through the App Store or Google Play, the refund request goes to Apple or Google, not to the game. Apple handles requests through its Report a Problem site. Google Play lets you request one through its own process within 48 hours of the purchase and sends you to the developer after that. The publishers’ own terms generally say coin sales are final, and a card chargeback can put your game account at risk. Our page on refunds through the App Store and Google Play has the steps and the catches.

How do you stop purchases before they happen?

Prevention beats a refund request. There are two kinds of control:

• For a child’s device: Apple’s Ask to Buy and Google’s Family Link purchase approvals can send every purchase to a parent for a yes or no. Age ratings help less than you might expect, because the same casino app can carry very different ratings on the two stores. Our guide to parental controls and age ratings covers both.
• For your own phone: you can block in-app purchases, require a password for every purchase, remove saved cards and load a prepaid gift card instead, so the most you can spend is what is on the card. Our page on setting your own limits explains how, including time limits for the apps themselves.

When should you step back?

Spending more than you planned, buying coins to get back to where your balance was, hiding purchases from people close to you or playing to escape a bad mood are all early warning signs. Canada’s Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines, published by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, were written for gambling with money, but they are a useful yardstick for anyone spending real dollars on casino-style play. Our page on when free play stops being fun goes through the signs and what research says about social casino play and later gambling.

If you play sweepstakes-style sites, where some coins can be redeemed for prizes, the money questions are different again: start with our guide to sweepstakes and prize casinos. And if you or someone close to you needs to talk to someone now, our responsible gambling and helplines page lists free, confidential support for every province and territory.