Back in August 2023, a class action lawsuit was levied against Roblox Corporation, claiming that the platform encourages underage gambling.
On Thursday, September 19, a Northern California federal judge gave the green light for the lawsuit to proceed.
The lawsuit seeks to recover losses suffered by parents whose children lost money on third-party virtual casinos operating through Roblox.
This is just one of numerous lawsuits filed against the company.
Roblox has been able to successfully defend against similar claims in the past, but the continued litigation by parents makes one wonder how long it will be before the popular platform will have to pay.
Key Highlights
- Class action lawsuit against Roblox allowed to proceed.
- The lawsuit alleges that Roblox allowed youth to gamble through third-party rogue online casinos.
- Roblox could forced to pay restitution and other penalties related to levied charges.
Class Action Lawsuit to Move Forward Against Roblox
A Northern California federal judge is allowing a class action lawsuit to proceed against Roblox Corporation.
The lawsuit was filed in August 2023, alleging that third-party websites allowed players to use Robux to make online gaming bets.
Robux is the virtual currency players can buy on Roblox to purchase in-game items and experiences.
It seems entirely foreseeable that developers would want to create highly addictive experiences, such as gambling games, that entice users to spend a lot of Robux.
Judge Vince Chhabria, US District Judge
Several black market online casinos and social casino sites allegedly used Roblox as a medium to allow underage youths to gamble online.
Sites like BloxFlip even paid YouTube and TikTok influencers to promote their sites and offer promotional codes.
US District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled to allow the lawsuit to proceed, believing that Roblox was at least partially to blame for allowing gambling harm to children.
As he explained, “It seems entirely foreseeable that developers would want to create highly addictive experiences, such as gambling games, that entice users to spend a lot of Robux”.
What’s more, according to the complaint, the virtual casinos were well known to both users and Roblox itself.
“The three virtual casinos launched widespread marketing campaigns, prominent Roblox social media influencers discussed or endorsed the virtual casinos, and Bloxflip had over 5.7 million monthly visitors in 2022.
[It is reasonable to infer that] Roblox knew how these virtual casinos operated and could foresee the probability that minors would navigate to these sites and gamble their Robux away.”
More Lawsuits Continue to Flood Companies Like Roblox
Roblox isn’t new to being sued by angry parents. The company has received numerous lawsuits over the last couple of years, as have other companies like Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite.
Over a dozen such cases were dismissed in June, and it was clear that some cases were without merit.
For example, one plaintiff claimed that their child had become addicted to video games at age seven and needed counseling, medication therapy, and a specialized Education Plan for school.
However, upon further investigation by Epic Games, it was discovered that the child had only played a single hour on its platforms.
A similar dismissed lawsuit claimed that a child had spent over $3,000 in downloadable content and spent up to 14 hours daily playing online games.
Roblox Could Face Restitution and Severe Penalties
While a dollar amount has yet to be assigned to the case, Roblox could be on the hook for some serious real-world cash should they lose the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are seeking restitution and damages in connection to gambling harm experienced through the site. Furthermore, the lawsuit is accusing the site of violating RICO statutes and racketeering laws.
It is unclear how much Roblox made off of the transactions conducted by rogue casinos, but with the site taking a 30% commission fee on Robux purchases, the sum could be substantial.
Roblox was already under scrutiny for the types of games they allow and the use of in-game currency and purchases.
It is already banned in Turkey, and we can see other countries taking similar actions based on the results of this and similar lawsuits.
Sources
https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/has-roblox-enabled-underage-gambling.html
https://www.casino.org/news/roblox-underage-gambling-class-action-allowed-to-proceed/
https://wccftech.com/game-addiction-lawsuits-against-activision-roblox-epic-games-are-dismissed/
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/3:2023cv04146/416876
