In 2023, displeased parents complained about Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux, being available for use on certain third-party casino platforms, exposing young players to gambling content.
The company, which was also charging a 30% fee for converting funds into dollars on gambling sites, was accused of making a profit from child gambling.
At the end of March 2025, a study from the University of Sydney discovered in-game spending on Roblox has negative impacts on children.
A recent investigation shared with the Guardian has raised another serious alarm about the popular gaming platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation.
The research, carried out by digital behavior experts at multi-award-winning insight and innovation agency Revealing Reality, revealed just how easily children can stumble into inappropriate content and engage with adults, often without any safeguards in place.
Family Branding VS Real Experience
Revealing Reality uncovered a stark contrast between Roblox’s family-friendly branding and what kids actually experience once inside the platform.
While Roblox describes itself as “the ultimate virtual universe,” the findings suggest that for many young users, it can be anything but safe.
For its research, the multidisciplinary agency set up test accounts posing as users aged five, nine, ten, 13, and over 40, carefully isolating them from real players to monitor platform safety.
What they discovered was unsettling: underage avatars could easily access explicit environments and communicate with adults, bypassing moderation filters.
In one test, an adult account was even able to ask a five-year-old avatar for their Snapchat using coded language.
Roblox’s New Safety Features “Don’t Go Far Enough”
“The new safety features announced by Roblox last week don’t go far enough,” said Damon De Ionno, research director at Revealing Reality.
“Children can still chat with strangers, not on their friends’ list, and with six million experiences, often inaccurately rated or described, how can parents be expected to moderate?” De Ionno added.
Some of the virtual spaces the researchers accessed were clearly unsuitable for children.
One featured avatars engaging in sexually suggestive behavior, while another allowed users to choose fetish-themed clothing and overhear conversations filled with sexual noises and role-play via voice chat.
Despite moderation efforts, the report concluded that Roblox’s current safeguards fall short.
Roblox: “We Deeply Sympathize with Parents”
Roblox, which boasts over 85 million daily users, around 40% of them under 13, acknowledged these issues.
“We deeply sympathize with parents whose children have been harmed,” said Roblox’s chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman.
“Trust and safety are at the core of everything we do… In 2024 alone, we added more than 40 new safety enhancements.”, Kaufman added, referring to the updated parental controls and safety systems amid their ongoing lawsuit.
Still, the company concedes that verifying users’ ages, especially those under 13, remains a major industry challenge.
“There are bad actors on the internet,” Roblox said, emphasizing the need for broader cooperation across tech platforms and governments to improve child safety online.
Beeban Kidron, an internet safety advocate and member of the House of Lords, said the research reveals a “systematic failure to keep children safe” and argued this kind of testing should be standard for platforms like Roblox.In mid-March, co-founder and chief executive officer Dave Baszucki advised parents concerned about their children being on the platform to prevent them from accessing it – while also pointing out the company was vigilant in protecting users.