Zynga’s FarmVille has now come under the scanner for internet addiction and gambling. A 12 year old boy in the U.K has run into a debt of 905 pounds in the FarmVille game.

Out of the total amount. 288 pounds was the little boy’s own savings and the rest was added to his mother’s credit card.

FarmVille allows you to purchase virtual goods with real money. Virtual currencies and items constitute a major part of the income for the developer Zynga .An estimated amount of $5 billion has been reported from it alone.

HSBC, the credit card company involved has said that had the transaction taken place through the gambling site then they would have been alerted. However, since the expenditure was made as Facebook Credits, escalating transactions did not trigger any alert. Zynga has not responded too well for the refunds of the amount spent.

This incident just proves that these online games which as supposed to played for fun are increasingly turning out to an addiction. FarmVille is giving the World of Warcraft, another famous gaming addiction a tough competition!

Via: Mashable