This week, a class-action lawsuit against Roblox in the Northern District of California accused Roblox of illegally facilitating child gambling. The complaint was filed on August 15 by attorneys for two minors claiming that the company has maintained and targeted child users with their gambling ecosystem and has also allegedly defrauded them of thousands of dollars.
Parents of the children, Rachel Colvin and Danielle Sass, claim that the minors lost money by using the platform's digital currency called Robux on third-party gambling websites. The mothers claim that their children have lost thousands of Robux gambling on the sites (Roblox sells 800 Robux for $9.99).
The lawsuit names RBXFlip, Bloxflip and RBLXWild as participants in 'an illegal gambling operation that is preying on children nationwide.' While these virtual casinos exist outside the Roblox ecosystem, players can link their Robux wallet to these third-party sites from Roblox's website.
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Lawsuit Alleges Roblox & Third-Party Partners Defrauded Minors
In a statement, Roblox said: "These are third-party sites and have no legal affiliation to Roblox whatsoever. Bad actors make illegal use of Roblox's intellectual property and branding to operate such sites in violation of our standards." It's important to note that while players can play on Roblox for free, some of the most appealing in-game perks are unlocked by using Robux which have to be purchased using real money.
The gaming site is dominated by young users. According to a 2023 survey, 67% of users are under the age of 16 and only 14% of Roblox's users are over 25 years old. Roblox’s Community Standards forbid games with simulated betting or gambling using money. Many Roblox experiences offer lootboxes which are essentially virtual goods that have to be bought with real money via in-game currency. This is not the first time Roblox's commitment to child-safety measures being questioned. In 2021, the site had to ramp up its parental control program after NSFW content found popularity.