Roblox, the net video game maker of popular hits corresponding to “Murder Mystery 2,” “Adopt Me,” and “Slap Battles” is being sued by the parents of two minors who allege that the corporate is illegally facilitating child gambling.
Rachelle Colvin, a California resident, and Danielle Sass, who lives in New York state, filed suit against the San Mateo, Calif.-based company last week in San Francisco federal court.
The plaintiffs accuse Roblox of “allow[ing] third-party gambling web sites, including the highly popular online casinos operated by defendants Satozuki, Studs, and RBLXWild…to make use of the Roblox website to just accept online bets using Robux, to be placed on games at [their] virtual casinos,” in accordance with court papers.
The lawsuit alleged that Roblox was in violation of its own terms of service, which states that “experiences that include simulated gambling, including fiddling with virtual chips, simulated betting, or exchanging real money, Robux, or in-experience items of value will not be allowed.”
According to the lawsuit, Roblox users, most of whom are minors, “first purchase Robux through the Roblox website, using either their very own money, a parent’s bank card, or gift cards they possess.”
The minor then “navigates to one in every of the” three aforementioned sites’ “virtual casinos” that “exist outside the Roblox ecosystem,” in accordance with court papers.
“Then, the user links their Robux wallet on Roblox’s website to the gambling website,” the court documents alleged.
“And finally, once the minor-user’s wallet is linked, the gambling website converts the minor user’s Robux into credit that may only be wagered of their virtual casinos,” in accordance with the lawsuit.
“The gambling credits function similar to chips in a brick and mortar casino,” the defendants alleged in court papers.
“Users ‘buy in’ using their Robux, obtain chips, gamble until they lose their money or want to money out, and, in the event that they increase their credits, they money those credits out in exchange for Robux,” the lawsuit alleged.
“This entire exchange of Robux occurs on the Roblox platform with Roblox’s knowledge and lively support, and Robux never leave the Roblox ecosystem unless and until they’re cashed out for fiat currency,” in accordance with court documents.
A Roblox spokesperson told The Post: “We can’t address the particular allegations of the lawsuit, given the pending litigation.”
Bu the spokesperson added: “Bad actors make illegal use of Roblox’s mental property and branding to operate such sites in violation of our standards.”
“Roblox has teams and processes in place to research a lot of these web sites to guard our brand and platform, including, where possible, having the web sites removed,” the spokesperson said.
“In some cases, we engage with law enforcement as a part of our efforts.”
The company rep added: “Ensuring a secure and compliant online experience for users of Roblox is a core tenant of the corporate.”
“Roblox will proceed to be vigilant in combating entities who engage in practices which might be in violation of our policies or endanger the security of our community.”
Reps for Satozuki, Studs, and RBLXWild weren’t immediately available for comment.
Roblox, which operates a metaverse — an emerging virtual space where people play games and make transactions — reported 65.5 million day by day lively users in probably the most recent quarter, with a long-term goal of reaching 1 billion day by day users.
