Newsmakers

A nine-year-old boy has reportedly landed his father in an extraordinary financial mess after allegedly spending around Rs 1.13 crore ($118,000) on YouTube advertising campaigns to promote his gaming videos.

The astonishing claim was made by the boy's father, Dave, in a YouTube video titled “Message from Dad... Might Mike Plays Is Over,” published on September 15. According to Dave, his son Mike had been using a company credit card to run advertisements for videos featuring games such as Minecraft and Roblox.

Father Learns About Huge Credit Card Bill
Dave said he discovered the spending only after being called into a meeting with his manager, corporate staff and the company's finance team.

During the meeting, he was shown a breakdown of transactions covering approximately three weeks. The amount charged to the company card was reportedly $118,000, or roughly Rs 1.13 crore.

Dave said he initially had no explanation for the missing money but eventually connected the transactions to his son's YouTube activities.

The boy had reportedly started uploading gaming content at the age of eight, streaming gameplay directly from a PS5 without elaborate editing or production equipment.

How Did The Child Get Access To The Card?
According to Dave, the problem began when he entered his company credit-card details into the Google account to purchase Robux for his son.

The card details remained saved on the account, which was also linked to Dave's work email, calendar and files. The father said this allowed his son to access the payment method and subsequently use it for YouTube advertising campaigns.

Dave acknowledged that leaving the corporate card details connected to the account was his mistake.

He also said that, at nine years old, his son did not necessarily understand the significance of the large figures appearing on the screen or that the money being spent was real company money.

Spending Was Intended To Increase Video Views
The reported advertising campaigns were allegedly launched by the child in an attempt to increase the visibility and views of his gaming videos.

The incident has since attracted considerable attention online. Dave's video discussing the episode reportedly crossed 1.1 million views, with social-media users debating whether a child could fully understand the financial consequences of spending such a large amount.

When his father asked him about the situation, the nine-year-old reportedly responded, “I'm definitely cooked.”

The unusual incident highlights the potential risks of leaving payment information linked to shared accounts, particularly when children have access to online gaming and content-creation platforms.

The Rs 1.13 crore figure and the circumstances surrounding the spending are based on the father's account; the available report does not independently establish the complete transaction history.