[NEWS]Roblox targeted in the Philippines for resembling gambling

[Fredomago]

Thanks for sharing that picture, @asriloni.

We wouldn’t have known that there are already many countries banning it. I think decisions like this are also influenced by what other countries are doing. If it’s already banned elsewhere, it becomes easier for the Philippines to follow.

Also, I don’t think the Philippines is really benefiting much from this kind of game, so there’s less reason to keep it. They might give some time before the official ban, but after that, implementation will likely push through.

It's a must as there are already countries who completely ban the game, as you said it won't be hard to also do similar action, the game is exposing those young minds into gambling and taking action like this will save those that ain't exposed yet, it's a decision that's needed to quickly execute, there are so many issues that's being focused but this one is also important to take care.

[salad daging]

This is a map of countries that already banned Roblox. There are 11 countries banned it, and they have banned Roblox due to the similar reason. Roblox is getting uncontrolled. It's now offering 18+ entertainment. It is starting to the minors who played it.

Including my country where the Roblox game is restricted to ages under 16 because there is a lot of inappropriate content in the game including 18+ sex adult entertainment where many children play roles there, this has indeed become uncontrollable which has finally led the government to take decisive action.

I myself have never played Roblox but don't know how there is a gambling mechanism there, maybe some kind of bet made by individuals? Roblox has now been mastered by many children because they see influencers playing this too often, making many children addicted.

[Davidvictorson]

The main concern people have about this is that the majority of Roblox players are underage, and they are being exposed to gambling and possibly getting exploited, too.

Kids can't really distinguish harm and they are the most vulnerable. There I agree that they either fix this issue immediately or become completely banned.
Is this the case with Roblox in other countries were they are allowed? Why would they wait to be threatened with a ban before they address the issue. The companies do not really care about people except for them making profit.

The Philippine government is going to ban Roblox on April 3, and the Roblox execs are going to the Philippines to have a dialogue with local authorities, but there is news that they will still continue to ban it

April 3 is in two days, we wait for the latest news from them.

[bakasabo]

I myself have never played Roblox but don't know how there is a gambling mechanism there, maybe some kind of bet made by individuals? Roblox has now been mastered by many children because they see influencers playing this too often, making many children addicted.

Roblox is a sandbox, script with presents, a place where you can build your own game. Some developers create games that look exactly like casino, have roulette, slots, blackjack. Some games have mystery box mechanics, where you pay Robux (in game currency, purchased for fiat) to spin wheel or simply get box with random reward (such as skins or decorative items for character) with common to rare quality. Process is similar to opening boxes for counter strike 2 game.

[acroman08]

The main concern people have about this is that the majority of Roblox players are underage, and they are being exposed to gambling and possibly getting exploited, too.

Kids can't really distinguish harm and they are the most vulnerable. There I agree that they either fix this issue immediately or become completely banned.
Is this the case with Roblox in other countries were they are allowed? Why would they wait to be threatened with a ban before they address the issue. The companies do not really care about people except for them making profit.

True, children can't or have a hard time distinguishing harm, and they are also easy to coerce and manipulate, and that's the main concern the Philippine government had with Roblox.

The Philippine government is going to ban Roblox on April 3, and the Roblox execs are going to the Philippines to have a dialogue with local authorities, but there is news that they will still continue to ban it

April 3 is in two days, we wait for the latest news from them.

The deadline has been extended until April 10. Also, I just checked, and it looks like there is an update where the Philippine officials have laid out their non-negotiable demands, basically, they want Roblox to have a physical office in the Philippines, a very strict KYC(which I think is kind of ridiculous), and they want Roblox to provide to necessary information to track down predators and cybercriminals operating inside the game. They want Roblox to put a structural "safety by design" feature, the feature includes a "rapid-response reporting hotline" to report predatory behavior, and they also want "context-based filtering" that detects and blocks grooming behaviors.

If you want to read their full demands(not just the non-negotiable ones), you can read this article https://bitpinas.com/fintech/ph-roblox-demands/#demanding-safety-by-design

[Russlenat]

The deadline has been extended until April 10. Also, I just checked, and it looks like there is an update where the Philippine officials have laid out their non-negotiable demands, basically, they want Roblox to have a physical office in the Philippines, a very strict KYC(which I think is kind of ridiculous), and they want Roblox to provide to necessary information to track down predators and cybercriminals operating inside the game. They want Roblox to put a structural "safety by design" feature, the feature includes a "rapid-response reporting hotline" to report predatory behavior, and they also want "context-based filtering" that detects and blocks grooming behaviors.

If you want to read their full demands(not just the non-negotiable ones), you can read this article https://bitpinas.com/fintech/ph-roblox-demands/#demanding-safety-by-design

If they can ban Binance in the Philippines, then it’s even more possible for them to ban this one. Without a local office, they can’t collect taxes, so there’s really no reason for them to allow users to keep playing. But honestly, most of the time it just stays as an announcement and the implementation isn’t that strict. ISPs might block the website, but kids these days are not that easy to stop. They already know how to bypass restrictions using VPNs or even simple DNS tricks.

So even if it gets blocked, many users will still find a way to access it.

[Satofan44]

The main concern of the government is that Roblox games facilitate gambling. It is a problem because many users are children who shouldn't be exposed to gambling.

That is only the outrage reasoning that brought this situation to the public light. There are many things wrong with Roblox games and children are not benefiting from them in any way.

The management of Roblox should liaise with the government and sort out the problem if they cherish the Philippine market.  

It is called empty compliance, they will make some basic changes, pay some bribes and the government will talk in public how a deal with great changes has been made.

I agree with the parents, it is true, if we let our children play roblox, most of them will change our children's personalities into what we do not expect. The real evidence that I see in my environment, children who play roblox more often defy their parents, some of them already have partners even though they are still underage, there are also quite a few cases where they dare to defy their parents because they want to top up in this game. It is very natural even if some countries limit this game, hopefully in the future it will help reduce children who have bad traits from this game.

Then simply don't let your children play Roblox? Surely you don't mean to imply that the government is supposed to wield the power to control children and what they do at home? It is the parents fault that children are able to get access to these games in the first place. Sure, the government could ban them but that does not mean that there is not going to be 100 other alternatives that the children will get access to. They may not be popular individually as much as Roblox was, but that fact won't diminish the negative impacts that it is going to have on the children that engage in such activities.

Based on the latest update, the Philippine government wants Roblox to have a local office in the Philippines so it can address people's concerns immediately as they arise. The local authorities have already stated all their demands its now up to the Roblox management if they are going to comply, so they can retain their presence. The Philippines has a large user base on Roblox. Let's see after April 10 if they can retain the Philippines as part of their platform.

GOVERNMENT WANTS ROBLOX PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN PH
Officials said the government expects Roblox representatives to engage directly with Philippine authorities, especially as the state seeks faster coordination in responding to threats involving minors.

Roblox warned: Fix child safety issues or face PH ban

Unless there is an extremely effective means of punishing them for failing to comply, establishing an office does not do much in terms of real change -- it just gives parents a place to rant and false pleasure from the belief that someone listened to them, even if they really did not.