On the PS4 my credit card is linked to my PS+ account, all one of the kids would have to do is hop on my account.  Same with Vudu and Prime Video.

Edit: as for the OP I don't think it is a half bad idea

Oh yeah, I forgot you can use those shop cards to get money. Yeah, that would be easier to get money for lootboxes.

Either way, I wouldn't be so against this. I don't really like microtransactions in full price games.

I like the part of them releasing the odds like they do in China but I'm not very fond of this part of your post.

"For example, a game will have 5000 'points' that you can use to buy microtransactions with. Once you spend the equivalent of X points (typically hovering around equal values), then you have to wait until the beginning of the next month."

just had a glance at this, but if that starts to roll out it would be fantastic.

Ah, yeah, I can see how kids could easily start spending money on loot boxes without possibly knowing.

I had to put a pass code on my profile to keep the 9 year old off my game saves and out of the PS store.  Each kid has their own profile, I knew better but some parents could get stuck with a very large bill to learn that lesson.

I get your concern, but in all honesty I think it's a necessary evil. it's not like they're putting an extremely low limit. I have Pokemon Shuffle on my phone and the limit is 1000 I believe. They make 1 gem = 12 points, and most expensive package is 75 gems. 

The app also states clearly in the beginning you can play for free. Japan doesn't mess around, and honestly I think it's something more countries should do. Too many people are easily manipulated and I'd rather see governments put a reasonable limit versus companies screwing over people bad with money. 

Yeah, I've heard that horror story from news sources a few times before.

And the industry only has themselves to blame for this, they could of started self regulating but no they just went too far and this is the result of their failure to keep themselves in check.

That's stupid. The people who are suffering most of this are the ones above 21 who are able to pay too much and go into a spiral of gambling and self destruction. Kids do it once and then get a slap on their wrist from their parents and even learn a valuable lesson. There are already plenty of safeguards in place for kids not to spend money. An age restriction will do nothing and maybe make it even worse. They're gonna find a way to get the game anyway and are getting desensitized to crime in the process. It's probably the worst thing they could've done.

If they really are serious about gambling then they should either ban it completely or put as many safe guards in the way as possible. Age restrictions on video games are no safeguards.