Don’t give streamers tips, don’t make in‑game purchases, and don’t make impulsive buys

On average, each gamer in China spends roughly 480 yuan per year on games, and that money is almost impossible to get back. Laws only require refunds for purchases made by minors without parental consent; adults have no such protection. The easiest way to stay on budget is to take preventive steps: disable automatic payments, set spending limits, and unlink payment options.

There is no cost at all. It only takes a few minutes to do three things: turn off automatic payment, set daily and per‑transaction limits, and remove any linked payment methods from the platforms. The hard part is resisting the urge to click those buttons right then and there.

This is a substantial expense. In 2024, China’s gaming market generated 325.783 billion yuan in revenue, serving 674 million players — an average of about 480 yuan per person (calculated by dividing total revenue by the player count). That money is largely unrecoverable. One exception exists: if a minor (a person with limited civil capacity) makes purchases without a guardian’s permission, courts must support the guardian’s request for a refund. No such rule applies to adults. Additionally, minors are legally restricted to playing online games only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, and only between 8 pm and 9 pm each day (China, 2020‑2021).

This is graded as B because no direct studies have measured exactly how much money can be saved by avoiding tips and purchases; we only have aggregate industry figures. Turning off automatic payments and setting limits are widely recommended practices, which would merit a C rating on their own. The exact wording of Articles 19 and 145 of the Civil Code is already quoted verbatim in Item 9 (about minors making in‑app purchases). This information is not financial advice.

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