Investigation claims "network of illegal casinos" lets children gamble with their Roblox account details

Original story, December 17 2024: A "network of illegal casinos" is allegedly permitting children to gamble using their Roblox currency.

According to an investigation by Sky News, children as young as 12 have reportedly been able to gamble using their Roblox accounts on sites and unlicensed casinos that run outside of Roblox's ecosystem.

Although the casinos are not published on Roblox itself and the company has attempted to deter the illegal sites, children can reportedly use their Roblox login credentials and Roblox's currency, Robux, to access gambling on "robux casinos" like BloxFlip, RBLXWild, and Bloxmoon. The latter - which acquired RBLXWild earlier this year - has taken "a total of $11.4m (£8.9m) [...] since it launched in late 2022."

Whilst some casinos ask the players to provide a date of birth or tick a box confirming they are over 18, "they do not attempt to verify the user’s age."

One respondent told Sky News that he began gambling at the age of 14, and has gambled away around 15 million Robux - the equivalent of around $190,700 (£150,000). Even though his mother "tried to get [him] to stop," he "just liked the adrenaline of doing bigger and bigger bets."

"I just thought it was something you could do to make extra money," he said. "I didn't even know what gambling was."

A friend of the child reportedly threatened to take his own life after he lost 20,000 Robux - the equivalent of about $250/£200 - "on a single roulette spin."

Sky News said the boy's friends weren't sure "if he was serious, but the group didn't want to get adults involved for fear of revealing their gambling habits."

"We just tried to calm him down ourselves," the respondent added.

In response to the investigation, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, Andrew Rhodes, said: "At the end of the day, illegal casino operators are criminals. They're supported by criminal gangs and are part of the criminal underworld. It's important all of us play our part in trying to frustrate them."

Commenting that all partners, including parents, should be "vigilant" about what their children are doing online, Rhodes added parents "have to remember that criminals are always trying to find ways to exploit children and others and be alive to that risk."

BloxFlip went offline shortly after Sky News approached the site with its findings. Bloxmoon and RBLXWild have also disappeared, with notices on their websites saying they have "ceased operations."

However, site moderators have been caught encouraging players to circumvent regional bans by using VPNs, and both Bloxmoon and RBLXWild have previously moved operations to slightly different URLs.

Roblox was reportedly suing some of the illegal casinos for copyright infringement and breaking its terms of service.

"We have a dedicated group focused on identifying potentially fraudulent activity on Roblox and we work collaboratively with law enforcement authorities where possible to pursue the owners of such websites," a Roblox spokesperson told Sky News.

"Our efforts have met with some success, but we would welcome further law enforcement action and vigilance from web hosting providers to shut down sites like this."

GamesIndustry.biz has also independently reached out to Roblox for comment.

Roblox recently announced significant changes to its safety systems and parental controls to protect children under 13.

Update, December 18 2024: In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Roblox stressed that it did not own, control, operate, or condone" the websites concerned, adding: "The websites in question are in no way endorsed or authorized by Roblox, and we have taken numerous steps to disrupt their activity, which violates our Terms of Use.

"We have a dedicated group focused on identifying potentially fraudulent activity on Roblox and we work collaboratively with law enforcement authorities where possible to pursue the owners of such websites," Roblox added. "Our efforts have met with some success, but we would welcome further law enforcement action and vigilance from web hosting providers to shut down sites like these."