A non-gambling company is finding itself under the kosh with inderage gambling laws as Roblox faces a lawsuit over alleged underage gambling! (Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on Unsplash)
The popular kids’ gaming company denies knowingly allowing gambling by minors. However, despite not being an online gambling company, some of the ways that its games work, it may need to defend a lawsuite that claims it has allowed a form of underage gambling on its website.
Parents Sue, Saying Kids Used Roblox to Gamble
A group of angry parents sued Roblox last year. They say their kids used Robux, the game’s digital money, to gamble on outside websites linked to Roblox. The parents argue Roblox made real cash when the gambling sites changed the Robux back into actual dollars.
Judge Says Company May Have Known About the Gambling
The judge on the case isn’t so sure about Roblox’s side of things. He thinks Roblox likely knew these gambling websites existed. The sites even used names like RBX Flip to show they were tied to Roblox. Still, the judge said he needs to see more proof to back up some of the parents’ claims. If this is the case, the company could face severe legal consequences. The company is already facing investor issues on the stock market losing over 70% of its value since 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Tackling Underage Gaming in the Casino Industry: ‘Know Your Customer’ checks in online casinos are designed to check the players that register with an online casino are of legal age to gamble. However, Roblox does not consider any of its games as gambling, which is likely why the company has landed itself in hot water.
Roblox Passes the Buck to Third Parties
Roblox’s lawyer says outside developers are to blame if there was gambling, not Roblox itself. The judge pointed out Roblox must have known what was going on if it did business with these sites. But Roblox’s lawyer stuck to saying Roblox doesn’t run or oversee these. Similarly, Evolution has been in the news for targeting illegal markets, yet the company has said in the past that many of its games delivered into these countries are via third-part aggregators. Whether those aggregators are breaking the terms and conditions of their B2B contract with Evolution is another matter.
You can read more about the Evolution legal issues here – Evolution Faces Legal Troubles Over Lack of Transparency.
Kids Too Young to Gamble, Says Judge
Either way, it doesn’t look good for Roblox if the judge’s opinion is anything to go by. What does bother the judge is little kids betting money. He thinks it’s on Roblox to keep young kids safe when using their platform. The judge seems ready to let the parents move ahead in trying to prove Roblox didn’t do enough to stop gambling by minors. But he also asked them to fix certain holes in their legal argument. So that’s what’s going on in the case. The judge will soon decide who’s right on the law. Then things will either head to trial or come to an end.
In the UK, recent laws passed have said that online casinos must bear the responsibility of failings by aggregators they hire. As in the past issues whereby KYC checks, AML laws, and problem gambling failures occurred at casinos holding UKGC licensing, some of the operators blamed the aggregator or other third party supplying B2B services. THe UKGC still fined the operators, but also released news that it has opened a New hub for operators engaging with third parties.
Livecasinocentral Opinion: Roblox and Evolution generally only need to abide by rules in the countries their games are available. Whether arguing the issues are down to third parties will resonate with judges overseeing possible legal suits and current legal suits against them works remains to be seen. It may depend on whether the plaintiffs can use cases such as those on the the UKGC as presidence.
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