[NEWS]Roblox targeted in the Philippines for resembling gambling

[Somegory]

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

There is this one thing that I have learnt about kids that do gaming, they become rude and angry 💢 all of a sudden, they change in a matter of short term and that's because of the people they meet online.

If you are going to ever allow your children to play games make sure that they are playing offline story driven games, make sure they avoid online games completely, this is for their own good.

There are many things happening online with multiplayer games this days, in the past I have heard about terrorists using online in-game chat to plan their next attack, also such places are filled with pedophiles.

[dimonstration]

There is this one thing that I have learnt about kids that do gaming, they become rude and angry 💢 all of a sudden, they change in a matter of short term and that's because of the people they meet online.

If you are going to ever allow your children to play games make sure that they are playing offline story driven games, make sure they avoid online games completely, this is for their own good.

There are many things happening online with multiplayer games this days, in the past I have heard about terrorists using online in-game chat to plan their next attack, also such places are filled with pedophiles.

Even a simple youtube can make children behave like that because they are not properly being supervised to orient what’s right or wrong behavior so even offline games will result the same.

Internet makes parenting less focus and family oriented since parents relies to online platform to catch their children attention so that they can do whatever they want.

It’s not always about the influence online rather parenting negligence.

[asriloni]

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.

I personally agree with such decision. It's caused by minors should not be dealing with gamble caused by it will only destroy their life. Minors have no self control, and limited them to access Roblox is right.

It's to ensure they grow until the legal age, then they know how to gamble responsibly. I hope the more countries are banning Roblox. It's caused by it gave disastrous effect to the future generation. 

[Maslate]

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.

[Alex077]

. 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.
I personally agree with such decision. It's caused by minors should not be dealing with gamble caused by it will only destroy their life. Minors have no self control, and limited them to access Roblox is right.  

On one hand, you’re right - any elements tied to gambling or casino-like mechanics (like loot boxes, etc.) can definitely have a negative impact on minors. their self-control isn’t fully developed yet, and these systems can be pretty addictive and easy to get hooked on.
But on the other hand, a full ban feels like a pretty harsh and not entirely justified move.
Roblox itself isn’t even close to being a casino - it’s a platform with a huge variety of content, although that’s also where part of the problem comes from.
I think a more reasonable approach would be stricter moderation, better control of 18+ content, and clear age separation.
Proper regulation and control, on the other hand, can actually reduce the risks and help prevent addiction.

[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".

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.

You are right, I agree with you. This is not only the responsibility of the Philippine government, but primarily the responsibility of the parents. It is the government's duty to punish such criminals and protect children, but the first duty and primary responsibility lies with the parents, who must monitor and protect their children before they reach adulthood.

The duty of the Philippine government now is to apply the maximum penalty to those criminals who are proven to be involved in these brutal and inhumane acts against young children.

[bhadz]

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said that they're not going to put a ban on Roblox. And lately, telco and internet provider giant - Globe said that they're willing to cooperate in it. And Roblox itself said that they're also going to cooperate so that they won't get a ban. I don't understand how gambling is related to Roblox or how it resembles with it when it's purely fun and game for the kids. What I know more of it is that the predators and exploiters are there even more than the gamblers. I think that the government should be tackling more of that than saying it's close to gambling.

[bitbollo]

there are gambling mechanism hideden in many products for children and I see everytime with my grandson.
Just to not mention specific brands, but nowadays even collecting "stickers" has become something more related to "the pull" or the big jackpot.
It would be interesting to see how Roblox could defend in these situations their operations.

[Oasisman]

there are gambling mechanism hideden in many products for children and I see everytime with my grandson.
Just to not mention specific brands, but nowadays even collecting "stickers" has become something more related to "the pull" or the big jackpot.
It would be interesting to see how Roblox could defend in these situations their operations.

If some governments seriously considering gatcha mechanics and anything like it as gambling, then I don't see any difference with those stickers that you mentioned or even those trading cards physically sold in the stores.
But I think Roblox's case is different from this, as they are accused of having a literal casino like gambling inside the game, and that isn't easy to defend for sure. Plus, there are those other things they've been accused of, so I don't think they're in a good position legally.

[maydna]

It is good if the government seriously prohibit Roblox because of related to gambling. That is dangerous for children who use it daily as parents controls seems can't protect their children from this thing. But we know that gambling may uses many ways inviting people gamble without they realize.

Once they become addicted, they will difficult leaving the games and still play on it. If more evidence Roblox is related to gambling, the government should do something to prevents the addiction from happening before too late.

[junder]

I myself don't really know about the Roblox game but I've played it on my friend's cellphone because I wanted to try it, I don't think Roblox can be done with gambling or that it's similar to gambling with me having played it for a while I just thought it was an online game like in general but if this is really like gambling then it is indeed dangerous because in my environment there are many underage children who play it and they even do it all the time, this can make them slowly get to know gambling or maybe do it.

[bakasabo]

there are gambling mechanism hideden in many products for children and I see everytime with my grandson.
Just to not mention specific brands, but nowadays even collecting "stickers" has become something more related to "the pull" or the big jackpot.
It would be interesting to see how Roblox could defend in these situations their operations.

Right now Roblox put restriction on some games. Until account gets verified, those can not be accessed or even found in search. However, their verification is a joke, because a child can upload picture of an adult and get account verified for all type of games. Also not everyone is forced to pass verification by uploading video. I have passed mine (to play with my child) simply by filled birth date. Roblox has parenting control option. Parent can restrict child from playing games that are 9+, 13+, but nothing stops from game creator labeling his game with gambling elements as 1+.

[criptoevangelista]

We're facing similar issues here in Brazil. The government recently passed a law dubbed the 'Felca Law' (Felca is a left-leaning influencer), which led to changes where even games like Mario Kart are now rated 18+. Anyway, I’ve recently commented in another thread about the terrible habit rulers have of wanting the freedom to choose what the population should or shouldn't do, this should be an individual choice.

[Maslate]

there are gambling mechanism hideden in many products for children and I see everytime with my grandson.
Just to not mention specific brands, but nowadays even collecting "stickers" has become something more related to "the pull" or the big jackpot.
It would be interesting to see how Roblox could defend in these situations their operations.

Right now Roblox put restriction on some games. Until account gets verified, those can not be accessed or even found in search. However, their verification is a joke, because a child can upload picture of an adult and get account verified for all type of games. Also not everyone is forced to pass verification by uploading video. I have passed mine (to play with my child) simply by filled birth date. Roblox has parenting control option. Parent can restrict child from playing games that are 9+, 13+, but nothing stops from game creator labeling his game with gambling elements as 1+.

They’re just doing it to stay compliant, but that’s not really the main purpose. If they truly want to make sure players are not minors and meet the required age, they should implement proper verification like live selfies and document checks, similar to what casinos do.

The real target here is minors, and since most people now are using computers or mobile phones, monitoring becomes difficult. Parenting is not that easy in this situation, so it can’t just be blamed on the parents alone.

[YOSHIE]

Roblox targeted in the Philippines for resembling gambling

I don't know exactly how the Roblox site works in the Philippines, but if the reasons are as I quoted below:

Child Safety and Sexual Exploitation: The Philippine National Police Chief and the CICC (Inter-agency Commission on Counter Crime) accused Roblox of facilitating crimes involving minors, including sexual abuse and child predation. This is their main concern.

I think there is no bargaining authority and the Philippine police should act decisively against Roblox if the reason is true it is clear it is a real violation of the law and is dangerous, The Philippine government has done the right thing to save their society from criminal acts, especially since Roblox operates on gambling and targets minors and in addition operates illegally.

[Satofan44]

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".

There should be a blanket ban for these types of games for people under the age of 18. Any kind of time restrictions do not work without KYC and even with KYC they can be gamed. Therefore, it would be better to blanket ban children from these games completely and have exorbitant fees for cases where this law is not adhered to. Issues such as this can be solved with only 0.1% of cases working.

I don't know where the Philippine government was all this time?!

Taking bribes and stealing taxpayer money is a difficult job sir, that's where they were. 

No doubt there were plenties of pedophiles were played Roblox.

You don't even want to know the real data on this and estimates of the complete picture since most will not be known/detected.

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.

You can't blame the government at all, blame the parents? Sure, let's remove all bans on any products for children, because after all the government is not responsible at all. Start selling cigarettes, alcohol and drugs to children that want those things. Let's see what happens?  Parents always share part of the blame, but defending the government is just stupid.

Beside that Roblox developers are also deserved to be sued.

Yes.

The real target here is minors, and since most people now are using computers or mobile phones, monitoring becomes difficult. Parenting is not that easy in this situation, so it can’t just be blamed on the parents alone.

They are the most exploitable group of people, much worse than the elderly. That is why a lot of cancerous content on YouTube is also tailored to kids like that Mr Beast guy and others who exploit children. Similarly a lot of gambling things are put in wherever possible, that is why they keep looking for law loopholes to put in gambling mechanisms whenever possible. In games, in apps, in everything.

[Fiatless]

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.

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.

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

[vanesha]

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

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.

[aioc]

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

[r_victory]

My daughter plays Roblox, and I keep her in my sight at all times, controlling the time she can use the computer. The problem isn't the game itself, but the fact that users can create their own games within it, and many are inappropriate, with sensitive themes. Here in my country, they've also tightened the rules on games and platforms; loot boxes, for example, are prohibited for minors because they are considered casino games.