A nine-year-old gamer’s attempt to boost his YouTube audience reportedly turned into a $118,000 advertising bill after he gained access to his father’s company credit card and used it to promote his Minecraft and Roblox videos.
Who is Mighty Mike Plays?
The incident was detailed by David Sarkisyan, a marketing professional and the boy’s father, who took control of his YouTube channel, Mighty Mike Plays, to explain what happened in a video titled ‘Mighty Mike Plays is Over.’
The YouTube account involved in the incident is @MightyMikePlays67. In the channel’s About section, the boy describes himself as a "9-year-old gamer dude who's OBSESSED with exploring the epic worlds of Roblox and Minecraft."
The channel description also states: "On this playlist you're gonna see super fun, epic gaming adventures, awesome builds, and crazy challenges that'll blow your mind! So if you're a Roblox and Minecraft fanatic just like me let's go on this gaming adventure together!!"
Wanted more channel views
Sarkisyan outlined how his son’s efforts to attract more viewers ultimately resulted in the huge advertising expense.
{{/usCountry}}Sarkisyan outlined how his son’s efforts to attract more viewers ultimately resulted in the huge advertising expense.
{{/usCountry}}“All of this honestly never started as anything serious, Sarkisyan explained on the video. “He was about 8 years old. He’d sit there and watch other people play Minecraft and Roblox for hours on YouTube.
Sarkisyan said his son eventually asked whether he could upload his own gameplay. Rather than simply watching other people play, Mike wanted to become involved in a more interactive way, so his father agreed and completed the necessary setup for him to broadcast his gameplay live.
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A few weeks later, he told his father that he was frustrated because hardly anyone was watching his YouTube channel. Sarkisyan then offered to create a small advertising campaign, spending around $20 to bring additional views to one of his son’s videos.
Father blames saved card details
According to Sarkisyan, the situation escalated because he failed to remove the saved payment information afterward.
"What I didn’t think about, not even for a second, was that saving my company’s card meant it was just going to sit there afterward, pretty much available anytime he opened an app on his own,” he said.
The father acknowledged that, as an adult, he should have been more careful with the payment details and said his nine-year-old son did not fully understand what the transaction meant.
"I did not think for one second that this was going to be an issue. Huge mistake on my part,"
YouTube channel is stopped
Sarkisyan said he only realized what had happened after being summoned to a meeting with his manager, corporate officials and members of the finance team. There, he was presented with the company’s advertising spending over the previous three weeks, which had reportedly reached $118,000 on the corporate credit card.
The spending was allegedly tied to promotional campaigns for videos featuring titles such as “Mighty Mike,” “Epic Roblox” and Minecraft gameplay. According to Dave, three of the promoted videos had collectively drawn around 200,000 views.
The nine-year-old’s father said his son will face consequences for what happened, although he has not yet decided what the punishment will be beyond stopping the channel for now.