[NEWS]Roblox targeted in the Philippines for resembling gambling

[alegotardo]

Roblox is under investigation in the Philippines for having games similar to gambling. Just so people know, this isn't the first time Roblox has come under investigation because of games that resemble gambling. I remember discussions about it in the past where it talks about people filing a complaint that there are games inside Roblox that are basically a casino, where players can gamble. 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.

Okay, I know that some platforms may go a little overboard regarding what is reasonable or not to offer to our children and teenagers, but I think this is being generalized too much, you do not think?
Long ago before the fame of online casinos, we already had many platforms that allowed us to invest in something and receive random items based on luck, and this was never seen as illegal, so why is it different now?
I think there needs to be a very clear distinction between betting money to win more money and betting money to receive random gifts.
Otherwise, soon they will even ban the claw machines in shopping malls.

[Shinpako09]

A lot of kids in our neighborhood, especially in grade school, play Roblox. I never thought a game like Roblox would come this far and be used for exploitation. I used to think the issues were more about child safety, like harassment, rather than anything related to gambling? Like, they might be recruiting kids to post or do things related to violence. Or maybe I just haven’t seen that article yet, resembling gambling. But in my opinion, while Roblox needs to be stricter, at the end of the day, it’s still up to the parents to monitor their kids’ actions. It’s their responsibility.

[Darker45]

There's just too many complaints, suspicions, accusations, and whatnot against Roblox. Why can't the regulators just ban it once and for all?

But I guess the biggest problem with Roblox isn't the feature that resembles gambling. It's probably that there are old people in the game who are sexual predators to young children.

The problem with most parents is that they just allow their children to do whatever they want with their online gadgets so that they don't disturb them.

[viljy]

Well, it's been going on for a long time. By the way, Roblox is blocked in Russia (although they play it anyway). It is very difficult to control gambling on such a platform in terms of access. The Philippines can simply impose a large fine, then maybe Roblox will take some measures to limit gambling in its "universe". In general, this problem has already spread quite widely. The services openly cultivate gambling and at the same time try to mimic something harmless or "other": Roblox, Steam (loot boxes), Polymarket (the bet is called futures contract, and the betting office is called the market). Of all of them, Roblox is the most brazen because it involves minors in gambling, which is prohibited in almost all countries.

[Oasisman]

There's just too many complaints, suspicions, accusations, and whatnot against Roblox. Why can't the regulators just ban it once and for all?

But I guess the biggest problem with Roblox isn't the feature that resembles gambling. It's probably that there are old people in the game who are sexual predators to young children.

The problem with most parents is that they just allow their children to do whatever they want with their online gadgets so that they don't disturb them.

Or maybe it's about damn time for Roblox to moderate the game strictly and thoroughly. Everything that are suspicious and inappropriate in-game should be moderated immediately.
There have been reports that illegal trades (drugs), groups of extremists, pedos, violent contents, as well as gambling, inside the game. Is Roblox tolerant to these activities? It's just impossible that they're being unaware of it, and did not take actions to prevent it.

[TopTort777]

Roblox needed moderation long time ago. As a platform with games for kids, there are too much adult content. Starting from +18 chats, ending with gambling alike games. They even have game which goal is to beg for Roblox currency. As Roblox allows p2p item trading, and you can create your own item, set your own price, its a perfect place for money laundering. I have never seen games there that imitate gambling completely, but lootboxes are probably in every third game. Roblox must also think about way user makes a purchase, because now its only YES/NO button. No extra protection. One tap and funds are gone forever.

[acroman08]

There's just too many complaints, suspicions, accusations, and whatnot against Roblox. Why can't the regulators just ban it once and for all?

But I guess the biggest problem with Roblox isn't the feature that resembles gambling. It's probably that there are old people in the game who are sexual predators to young children.

The problem with most parents is that they just allow their children to do whatever they want with their online gadgets so that they don't disturb them.

Yeah, after reading more articles about it, the Philippine government's main issue with Roblox isn't that there are games that resemble gambling, but the presence of pedophiles and drug traffickers targeting children and grooming them, and from the looks of it, this has been a long issue in Roblox, and they have faced lawsuits over it. What's more ridiculous is that I saw an article where a guy is hunting alleged pedophiles in Roblox, but Roblox banned him.

[lombok]

There's just too many complaints, suspicions, accusations, and whatnot against Roblox. Why can't the regulators just ban it once and for all?

But I guess the biggest problem with Roblox isn't the feature that resembles gambling. It's probably that there are old people in the game who are sexual predators to young children.

The problem with most parents is that they just allow their children to do whatever they want with their online gadgets so that they don't disturb them.

Yeah, after reading more articles about it, the Philippine government's main issue with Roblox isn't that there are games that resemble gambling, but the presence of pedophiles and drug traffickers targeting children and grooming them, and from the looks of it, this has been a long issue in Roblox, and they have faced lawsuits over it. What's more ridiculous is that I saw an article where a guy is hunting alleged pedophiles in Roblox, but Roblox banned him.

The fact that many legal cases have arisen due to the availability of criminal components in entertainment applications proves that innovation that lacks the aspect of security is an awful catastrophe. In my opinion, the Philippine government has a good case to act in order to secure the future of our youth. The blockage of criminal hunters is the irony, which proves that it is irrational to impose internal rules in the company. More transparency needs to be sought as any threats will be responded to immediately.

[LogitechMouse]

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Parents are complaining that Roblox games take up too much of their children's time, causing them to neglect their studies, become disobedient, and spend their allowance on the game. It's good that the government is taking a firm stand on banning Roblox because it's not a simple game anymore, it resembles gambling

They said it to Binance, and they did, but those who are a bit techy know some loopholes, and they can still access it. Same with MEXC. I'm not saying that it's the same, but techy people will always find a way to access something, and this isn't different at all.

While I don't believe that they'll completely ban Roblox on April 3rd, I still believe that this will have a big help towards the parents of the kids because majority of them might not even know the loopholes that they can do to still have access to the game. Downloading APKs will help them gain access still, right? This move by them targets those kids out there who are being exploited and some are even going into some sexual things and if you're the parent, you will find it very disturbing. We've seen some news of kids raging because of some games that even parents are having a hard time stopping them.

I'm not sure though if how the games resembles gambling, or will the government ban it because of gambling-related issues? I haven't heard one TBH.

[Wapfika]

As per checking through AI search, Robux can be exchange to fiat but only for developer earnings and not through other ways like earning it through gambling.

This game is too popular on my neighborhood and I thought this robux is just an in-game currency without any option to convert to cash.

My nephew spend a lot on this game since his parents always gift him with this whenever he has good grades at school. I’m surprised to see involvement of this game to gambling. They are abusing minors with this option.

[Fortify]

Roblox is under investigation in the Philippines for having games similar to gambling. Just so people know, this isn't the first time Roblox has come under investigation because of games that resemble gambling. I remember discussions about it in the past where it talks about people filing a complaint that there are games inside Roblox that are basically a casino, where players can gamble. 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.

There's two elements to this really. Sure, if Roblox loot or games inside the game are starting to resemble gambling too much, then that needs to be addressed. Too often these games platforms get a bit lazy or even chase metrics that ignore dangerous activity if they want visitor numbers or engagement to increase. Regulators need to keep a keen eye on this and set down the rules, especially when the youngest players are involved. However the Philippines has recently gotten much stricter, maybe too strict, against gambling and stopping any form of it within their country - that can swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction, so Ibe cautious about what any government officials chasing popularity votes might say from this country.

[Mhizlove]

Well, we can see that the authorities of many countries have finally woken up and started noticing the obvious. First, they became interested in Steam, now Roblox, and both platforms have user bases numbering tens of millions, and a significant percentage are minors. These are completely logical steps from the authorities.

True it do make alot of sense that the authorities are looking closely to this platform because of the young ones there. When a platform gets millions of people or users especially those minors, the government will definitely check the security level of such platform if it's scame free, for it's safety and how money moves inside the space, so it's not basically an attack rather it's more like an attempt to know or protect users and also make sure the the platform is safer.

[KiaKia]

Online multiplayer games are not good for kids, not just Roblox, you need to be in these games lobbies to understand what I am talking about, kids are learning the wrong things from corrupted kids on online chats.

If you are a parent or a guidance for children make sure they aren't talking to bad kids online all in the name of playing video games, many of them appear so innocent but they are something else online.

I can remember a cousin of mine who was 12 at the time, he met some strangers through online games and his parent started to complain about how fast he changed, told them to take his console but they doubted at first until the father found every past messages in the game.

[suzanne5223]

After the investigation or possible lawsuit is over. I believe Roblox needs to be more careful with their gaming service, and if i could remember, they were sued in the US weeks ago for having a certain treasure box in their games which looks just like gambling.
If they have a plan to add a little form of gambling into their gaming service, they should switch to the crypto metaverse gambling form of gaming instead of getting their service into a different form of lawsuit, which i believe could literally drain their capital.

[GreatArkansas]

I'm surprised how Roblox is able to allow this, but I'm not sure if it's really proven that they have allowed this on their platform.
I am also curious if the Philippines will not ask for money to Roblox or sue them because of this? Hahahaha.

Anyways, I also heard a lot of kids too having RMT(Real Money Trading) inside Roblox, so maybe that's connected.

[rbynxx]

Roblox is under investigation in the Philippines for having games similar to gambling. Just so people know, this isn't the first time Roblox has come under investigation because of games that resemble gambling. I remember discussions about it in the past where it talks about people filing a complaint that there are games inside Roblox that are basically a casino, where players can gamble. 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.

I think it was just linked to the currency they used but I don't think it's really a gambling platform as it just more on a metaverse type of game. I saw my little cousins using/playing this game but as far as I can see it, they're not gambling in it, they're more like trading some in-game items. Well, if it's government that already taking a look at it, it's just a matter of time before this can be implemented and it will be realized sooner or later.

[KTChampions]

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

I am telling them right now that everything they are implementing, all their safeguards, are not enough… So if they are just coming here to explain, they shouldn’t even bother coming

https://bitpinas.com/fintech/roblox-responds/

Parents are complaining that Roblox games take up too much of their children's time, causing them to neglect their studies, become disobedient, and spend their allowance on the game. It's good that the government is taking a firm stand on banning Roblox because it's not a simple game anymore, it resembles gambling

What nonsense. Maybe these idiot parents should spend more time raising their children? Now every game has loot boxes (it's hard to deny it's a form of gambling for children), so should we ban all games? We all know that gamification is a trend that has affected most services—should we ban that too? I think we need to be aware of the realities and prepare children for the world that exists, rather than protecting them with bans (which actually harms children).

[Kelward]

Restricting anything that can pose as a major distractions for underaged children is a welcomed idea because children needs to be more focused on their studies at tender age so they won't be addicted to what cannot add any visible value to their lives. Any country that decides that they don't want Roblox for the entertainment of their citizens including the younger ones should ban it especially because of the element of gambling in some of these games. Games are causing a lot of distractions for our young ones, they don't want to do anything else but play all day so I support restrictions and total ban for the ones that are gambling related for kids.

[Satofan44]

Roblox is under investigation in the Philippines for having games similar to gambling. Just so people know, this isn't the first time Roblox has come under investigation because of games that resemble gambling. I remember discussions about it in the past where it talks about people filing a complaint that there are games inside Roblox that are basically a casino, where players can gamble. 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.

However, the game has been under investigation for some time now, as authorities have found that it offers randomized rewards as well as loot box-style prizes and uses in-game currencies that are similar to gambling mechanisms.

Roblox is cancer and the kids that are playing games like this are idiots. Any system that has randomized rewards like this is not only pure gambling, it is being used to manipulate a growing brain to be more receptive to gambling-style behaviors in the long term. Therefore, we are experiencing a tobacco 2.0 situation just primarily focused on kids and not limited to Roblox at all. All randomized lootboxes and similar mechanisms should be permanently banned from every game, micro transactions too. This is one of the rare cases where regulators should actually get deeply involved and make rules. The capitalistic model of value extraction is a disease that needs to be abolished.

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

If governments were not corrupt, there would be no talks. There is nothing to talk about, the Roblox people are doing this knowingly. They are dishonest and greedy idiots.

Parents are complaining that Roblox games take up too much of their children's time, causing them to neglect their studies, become disobedient, and spend their allowance on the game. It's good that the government is taking a firm stand on banning Roblox because it's not a simple game anymore, it resembles gambling

That is not necessarily an issue with Roblox, although Roblox takes some of the blame. Stuff like this is primarily an issue with parenting. Just do not let your kid play any such game, what the fuck is wrong with you weaklings. People like this should not be permitted to have children in the first place.

[peter0425]

This is not the first time roblox was threatened to be banned. I can’t remember the reason for the first few ones but it might have something to do with misuse by adults of the platform. Tumblr was banned shortly after it was also thought to resemble gambling but then later on people was able to access it again. Telegram may be next if roblox gets banned.