What had worried the authorities?
In one investigation‚ authorities were looking into child safety․ Prosecutors say that some users have used certain Roblox features to groom or sexually exploit children using the game’s intrinsic systems․ Regulators argue that random rewards and in-game currencies are intrinsically similar to gambling‚ and that children may confuse them with real money․
Roblox has over 111 million daily active users‚ with 40% of players under the age of 13․ According to a study by the University of Sydney‚ children do not understand in-game currency systems nor loot boxes․ Some parents have called in-game purchases “child gambling” and “scams”․
What the Authorities Did
General Nartatez ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group to increase its monitoring of gaming applications․ It began to coordinate with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC)․ The general said modern police work is increasingly about operating in the digital environment‚ including a focus on child protection․
Regulators then issued a deadline for Roblox to submit a response on how the platform protects minors by the end of March․ Failure to do so could result in further action being taken against the platform․
Roblox Is Not the Only Target
Authorities said that other online gaming sites and social media are likewise being targeted‚ as part of a broader campaign against organized cybercrime․ The CICC signed an agreement with the Presidential Commission on Combating Organized Crime to work together to combat illegal online gambling․ The CICC also launched a project to catalogue unlicensed gambling websites and apps․
Why This Matters Beyond the Philippines
The Philippine case shows that gambling regulation is more than casinos‚ bookmakers‚ and betting shops․ In certain countries‚ regulators have also begun looking at RNG-based gaming platforms for regulation purposes․ The United Kingdom‚ Belgium‚ and the Netherlands have all taken action against loot boxes․
This has been a clear message to the industry: if you’re a platform with a big young user base and gambling elements‚ expect increasing regulatory scrutiny‚ regardless of how you market yourself․
