[NEWS]Roblox targeted in the Philippines for resembling gambling

[Darker45]

~snip~

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).

This is a familiar argument in the issue of imposing a ban on Roblox. I'd say you're partly right, because it's primarily the parents' responsibility to monitor what their children are doing, which games they're playing online, and so on.

However, especially in the context of the Philippines, where a great number of parents fail in keeping their children safe from the dangers of online gambling, pornography, and other evils on the internet, the government is expected to respond and make urgent interventions or implement drastic measures.

I'm in favor of governments setting strict rules for online services to follow. Failure of which could mean they would be kicked out. Any country shouldn't compromise the safety of her children.

[lovesmayfamilis]

It seems that Roblox is on the heels of many because its distribution affects a very large audience, including children. My child is also passionate about this game, but for some time now, I have been learning that Roblox is accused of not only contributing to the development of gambling addiction but also of corrupting children. Now, Roblox checks the age of the players, but this has little effect, as the children successfully trick the video camera. In fact, Roblox is an ordinary construction kit, playing with which children can learn good things, but adults with their complexes spoil everything that should belong exclusively in a good direction.

[Ziskinberg]

It seems that Roblox is on the heels of many because its distribution affects a very large audience, including children. My child is also passionate about this game, but for some time now, I have been learning that Roblox is accused of not only contributing to the development of gambling addiction but also of corrupting children. Now, Roblox checks the age of the players, but this has little effect, as the children successfully trick the video camera. In fact, Roblox is an ordinary construction kit, playing with which children can learn good things, but adults with their complexes spoil everything that should belong exclusively in a good direction.

How many countries have actually banned Roblox. I haven’t really heard of many, except for those countries that already restrict social media and games like this.

From what I’ve read in the news, and even here in our city, the issue isn’t really the game itself but how some people are using it. There are cases where individuals in the community dare children to do illegal activities. Recently, there was a report here where a kid stabbed a younger student, and it was linked to a promise of some kind of reward in Roblox, which I’m not really familiar with.

[DPHOR]

Does it mean that gambling is prohibited in PH?
If No then I do not see any reason for them to block that app except they are using it as place to keep extorting people or probably they are using it for illegal activities where people are now sending their details to be found and after which they could withdraw that amount to any of the account they may be providing at the end.
But, I do not know more about your locality, hence I wouldn't mind suggesting that this post would be more valuable at your local section to inform more people over there, maybe anyone who has account with them could likely withdraw their money before they finally place ban on them.

[acroman08]

Does it mean that gambling is prohibited in PH?
If No then I do not see any reason for them to block that app except they are using it as place to keep extorting people or probably they are using it for illegal activities where people are now sending their details to be found and after which they could withdraw that amount to any of the account they may be providing at the end.
But, I do not know more about your locality, hence I wouldn't mind suggesting that this post would be more valuable at your local section to inform more people over there, maybe anyone who has account with them could likely withdraw their money before they finally place ban on them.

Gambling isn't illegal in the Philippines, and apparently, the issue the Philippine government has with Roblox isn't just about games that resembles gambling inside Roblox, but also the presence of pedophiles and drug traffickers that target and groom children(according to this article). In short, gambling is part as to why the Philippines wants to ban Roblox, but it is not the whole reason.

[giammangiato]

Be careful what you declare and how you act, roblox is not just a game, inside there are different types of game, roblox can be compared to a platform that wraps different types of game with the graphic one.
I play roblox with my daughter (just so she doesn't let her play alone) I said: do you want to try this game? Well let's play together, just to see the pitfalls within this game mode.
The pitfalls are many, from pedophilia, they lure many young people into gambling, but ONLY in certain types of gambling.
Don't just rely on the news, but delve deeper into the topic, perhaps trying the game (like I did).
The game itself is not bad, it has many nice things to interact between players, and it is clear that in the wrong hands become a danger, but who is the danger the game or the users? Personally in my own little way I monitor everything my children do online, to protect them certainly not to be nosy. I care about their preservation and do what I can (even playing with them) to let them experience "experiences" that are different from the common one.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

Kids are focus playing over the internet and they are having friends online. Why Internet affects the life of what we had before.

Before, our parents are calling us to get inside stop playing and be at home, 90s kds will relate on this.
now parents are asking their children to go out and have friends outside/neighbors and play with them, stop playing online and have the beauty of sunlight outside.

Life is getting easier and faster with the internet but we are experiencing the badside also as our life are now depending on it.
Before, we are playing online or scrolling over the internet so we can escape the reality and have some peace on our own.
Now, we are looking to go out on a place where we can relax, far from the city just to escape the world and the fast growing internet.

Before we have lots of friend inte3racting and we are being careful of the people over the net coz they are the strangers that might be dangerous.
NOW, those people in our neighbors are mostly strangers to us even though we are on the same street for some years.

ROBLOX also giving us the danger specially for our kids, let our kids experience outside world and make friend by giving them the good example and making ourselves too far from internet when we are with them.

[Alphakilo]

Roblox resemblance to traditional gambling platforms isn't the main concern or issue here that made the government of Philippines to get interested in this case alone.
Their concern is the amount of minors involved without implementing strict age verification and curbing illegal activities that has become a major concern.
The issue here has to do with the house edge vs transparency of which Roblox is failing to be transparent.
However, a 30 day ultimatum has been issued to them to address the safety and regulatory concerns that is currently a topic for debate or they face a potential nationwide ban or severe service restrictions.

[coin-investor]

Here's the latest update on the potential Roblox ban in the Philippines. Roblox officials will meet with Philippine authorities from April 7 to 9, and then the authorities will decide on April 10.
They don't want to risk their platform being banned in the Philippines because it's one of their largest user bases.

Also, there will be a high-level summit on March 31 with CICC, DepEd, the Senate, and the Philippine National Police to tackle the Roblox child safety risk

For more information about the update, please check out this video

ROBLOX BAN IN PHILIPPINES DELAYED

[Satofan44]

It seems that Roblox is on the heels of many because its distribution affects a very large audience, including children. My child is also passionate about this game, but for some time now, I have been learning that Roblox is accused of not only contributing to the development of gambling addiction but also of corrupting children.

You should do everything to prevent your children from having any access to these services, including social media. It is not about direct time loss, the children that are exposed to this will have maldevelopment in the brain. In most cases it will be impossible to undo this, meaning that they will be permanently handicapped for their remaining life when compared to normal children. Compare a normal child growing up to one that is sitting for hours each day in front of a slot machine. What is the outcome after 10 or 20 years of this? This is what happens with the brain when exposed to Roblox, Instagram, TikTok and whatever other cancer is out there now. These are not things that you can later talk out with a psychologist, they will induce permanent brain chemical and structural changes.

Now, Roblox checks the age of the players, but this has little effect, as the children successfully trick the video camera. In fact, Roblox is an ordinary construction kit, playing with which children can learn good things, but adults with their complexes spoil everything that should belong exclusively in a good direction.

This is just compliance theater, you do the bare minimum to create what is required in order to satisfy the conditions of some laws. If they wanted to make it next to impossible for the average child to gain access there, they could -- but they won't do it on purpose. Most children these days are not technologically adept at all, much less compared a few earlier generations before social media. If they can bypass it easily, that means the system is shit.

The game itself is not bad, it has many nice things to interact between players, and it i

Don't write justifications here because you engage in behavior that is wrong. Roblox is a shit and cancerous game that nobody should ever play.

Here's the latest update on the potential Roblox ban in the Philippines. Roblox officials will meet with Philippine authorities from April 7 to 9, and then the authorities will decide on April 10.
They don't want to risk their platform being banned in the Philippines because it's one of their largest user bases.

Also, there will be a high-level summit on March 31 with CICC, DepEd, the Senate, and the Philippine National Police to tackle the Roblox child safety risk

For more information about the update, please check out this video

ROBLOX BAN IN PHILIPPINES DELAYED

I blame the government for concedeing here instead of outright banning. Most likely, the summit will present an opportunity for them to collect some bribes from Roblox. After enough bribes are given, the Philippines government will find a "compromise" that "works out for everyone". That is usually the bullshit talk that is given when something that should not be allowed gets bribed back. Children should not be exposed to any forms of gambling, but unfortunately with the current state of things that would require us to ban most technology access to individuals under 18 or 21.

[yhiaali3]

40% of the 111 million daily users are under the age of 13!!! This is a truly terrible number. Allowing gambling for minors is nothing compared to other crimes such as "sexual harassment, child grooming, and exploitation".

I support the Philippine government's decision to investigate the allegations against Roblox and uncover the truth, but at the same time I'm surprised how they let it grow to 111 million users for so long, and what's worse, 40% of them are under 13 years old!!! I don't know where the Philippine government was all this time?!

[lombok]

Roblox resemblance to traditional gambling platforms isn't the main concern or issue here that made the government of Philippines to get interested in this case alone.
Their concern is the amount of minors involved without implementing strict age verification and curbing illegal activities that has become a major concern.
The issue here has to do with the house edge vs transparency of which Roblox is failing to be transparent.
However, a 30 day ultimatum has been issued to them to address the safety and regulatory concerns that is currently a topic for debate or they face a potential nationwide ban or severe service restrictions.

The strict approach by the government in terms of deadline is a tangible move towards securing of the digital space of all users, and youths in particular. Transparency in algorithms is needed so that we avoid being stuck to a system that is harmful and exploitative of us, financially. The developers will not be able to reach these regulatory standards, this is why the service constraints are a rational measure that we should accept to provide wider and more comprehensive protection to the population.

[shinratensei_]

40% of the 111 million daily users are under the age of 13!!! This is a truly terrible number. Allowing gambling for minors is nothing compared to other crimes such as "sexual harassment, child grooming, and exploitation".

No doubt there were plenties of pedophiles were played Roblox.

Nevertheless, you can't really blame PH govt over this. It's caused by child control is still remain at their parents, not the government. Beside that Roblox developers are also deserved to be sued. It's caused by they let their game to be exploited for gambling and sexual harassment to the minors.

[savetheFORUM]

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.

Maybe this was also requested by many people including the higher authority but then their head seem a bit hard for not to comply, so I guess they only deserve this type of punishment. Roblox as a perfect place to launder money because no one would ever think such a thing can exist there. All only believes that it was a kids game.

But in the good side, many are also making money out of it. Like students who can't get a job now, it helps them to support their studies. Roblox having no payment protection is one of the issue of the parents nowadays. I keep hearing parents complain that their money got lost on their digital wallets. What is worse is that huge amounts are also involved.

[alani123]

It's a good move Philippines is investigating Roblox in my view.

Roblox has chosen to have a tight grip over creator content and profit a lot from anything published within their platform. There's no room for open source or third party marketplaces because they want to impose their fees very strictly and keep earning from it.

So they should also bear the responsibility to protect kids from addictive characteristics especially if games have gambling and especially since their game involves a currency that resembles money very closely.

[bakasabo]

I also find it good that Roblox is getting more attention from authorities, that some countries ban it. They way some game developers set prices on in-game items or services, including element of gambling, are ridiculous. Gaming financial policy needs to be moderated. In the same game, one spin to get game skin might cost differently between rounds. That is done on purpose, with hope that children wont notice price change. Suppose you play slots, one spin cost $1, you keep on playing, and then all of a sudden spin price changes to $100, and you automatically hit SPIN, because you have clicked on that button before multiple times.

[Pi-network314159]

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

any game that consume time, cause disobedient of children, lost of focus to study and lack of respect to their parents should be banned. because it has a similarity of gambling despite it is packaged in a way that seams like it is not. any game that is addictive and makes people to spend money without getting anything in return is gambling, because it possess the characteristic of addiction. any game that involves funding money to play is just gambling because they are exploiting them tactically without them knowing.

[Taskford]

I also find it good that Roblox is getting more attention from authorities, that some countries ban it. They way some game developers set prices on in-game items or services, including element of gambling, are ridiculous.

Yes, because its really inappropriate for kids to have an access to a game like this on which they can meet lots of random people online.

I also read this article and the risk points is really valid https://www.keepersecurity.com/blog/2024/08/01/is-roblox-safe-for-kids/ good that they also teach how to make their kids safe from that game, but for me much really better for parents to not let their kids play that game and instead convince them to play other offline games or play outside with their neighbors.

[bakasabo]

I also find it good that Roblox is getting more attention from authorities, that some countries ban it. They way some game developers set prices on in-game items or services, including element of gambling, are ridiculous.

Yes, because its really inappropriate for kids to have an access to a game like this on which they can meet lots of random people online.

I also read this article and the risk points is really valid https://www.keepersecurity.com/blog/2024/08/01/is-roblox-safe-for-kids/ good that they also teach how to make their kids safe from that game, but for me much really better for parents to not let their kids play that game and instead convince them to play other offline games or play outside with their neighbors.

I have searched for gambling in roblox and it lead me to this site https://bloxrefs.com/. As I understand, that problem is even bigger than I thought. Instead of playing from Roblox client or from https://www.roblox.com/, you can login to those casinos by using your Roblox login and password. Not only this is gambling, but that might be a simple scam site that will steal account with Robux and skins.

I havent search for info, but I dont think it is hard to copy/paste game if you are developer. So when roblox ban gambling game, dev can reissue it with different name and start all over again. I came to such conclusion after seeing number of trash games or obvious copy/pasted (stolen) games, while playing roblox with my child.

[acroman08]

Also, there will be a high-level summit on March 31 with CICC, DepEd, the Senate, and the Philippine National Police to tackle the Roblox child safety risk

For more information about the update, please check out this video

ROBLOX BAN IN PHILIPPINES DELAYED

Not gonna lie, I expected that they'd extend it, I mean, the Philippine government has done this in the past, where they'd set a deadline and then extend it. Anyway, for the sake of the Filipinos who are making money off of Roblox, I hope they can come to a resolution where Roblox actually implements stronger child safety measures to protect them from pedophiles, drug traffickers and games that resemble gambling inside Roblox.