Reader Mail: How Do Gift Card Age Ratings Work?

Each week we get loads of questions from parents and carers about all different aspects of family gaming. 

This week we have a question about the Age Ratings on video game gift cards. These can be purchased to offer credit for a game. They can also provide currency to be spent in a game, for example, Vbucks for Fortnite.

"Do POSA gift cards that have a PEGI rating on them (e.g. VBUCKS) refer to the game they are made for (Fortnite) or the gift card itself?"

We spoke to the experts at the VSC Rating Board who confirmed how this works:

"The PEGI rating on POSA gift cards relates to the game they are associated with, rather than to the gift card itself."

As you can see from the example here for Fortnite currency, the card is rating as PEGI 12. This means that it is illegal for it to be sold to anyone who is younger than that age. 

There are some gift cards that offer general credit to be used to purchase games, in this case they don't have a PEGI rating because they don't need to be spent on a specific game.

Gift cards like these are a great gift if you have someone in the family who plays video games. They are also a good way to add credit to a child's account without the need to associate a credit card.