It has become clear that illegal online casinos are using Roblox to lure children into online gambling

the Gambling Commission , launched an investigation into these illegal online casinos and blocked access to them from the UK. Andrew Rose, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: ‘Criminals are always finding new ways to exploit people, including children.’

Sky News has been able to access data from Bloxmoon, one of the illegal online casinos. Bloxmoon is an online casino that opened in late 2022, and it has been discovered that users of the casino have lost $11.4 million (about 1.77 billion yen) so far.

In just the seven months from April to October 2024, users made bets worth $22.3 million (approximately 3.46 billion yen), and the owner paid users $20.1 million (approximately 3.12 billion yen) as tips. The remaining $2.2 million (approximately 340 million yen) is the casino’s revenue, so the daily revenue is calculated to be about $10,281 (approximately 1.6 million yen). Bloxmoon’s monthly revenue is as follows.

It’s unclear whether other illegal online casinos are making more money than Bloxmoon, but of the eight illegal online casinos identified by Sky News, BloxFlip is the most popular, with an average of 2.7 million monthly active users, according to research firm SimilarWeb.

After Sky News presented its findings, BloxFlip announced that it would ‘permanently shut down the site within 36 hours.’ A BloxFlip co-owner reportedly posted in the casino’s official chat room, ‘The legal team representing Roblox has begun pressuring us to shut down the platform.’ Just hours after the Sky News report, Bloxmoon and RBLXWild also announced that they would cease operations permanently.

A Roblox spokesperson said the illegal online casinos are ‘not approved or licensed by Roblox’ and that ‘we have taken a number of steps to disrupt casino activity. The use of Roblox credentials by online casinos violates our terms of service.’ ‘We have a dedicated team focused on identifying fraudulent activity on Roblox, and wherever possible, we work with law enforcement to pursue the owners of such websites.’ ‘While our efforts have met with some success, we welcome further law enforcement action and vigilance by web hosting providers to shut down such sites.’

Dr Jane Rigby, chief executive of underage gambling advocacy group YGAM, said: ‘Unlicensed casinos can be much more dangerous than regulated casinos, both financially and psychologically. ‘If children are exposed to gambling at an early age, they are more likely to experience difficulties with gambling later in life,’ she said, pointing out that unlicensed casinos have no safety nets in place.

According to Robert, who gambled at an illegal online casino, there was an official online casino server on Discord, where the casino’s staff and users were having conversations, and it was repeatedly revealed that some of the users were minors. Therefore, Robert said, there is ‘no doubt’ that the online casino’s staff knew that many of the users were minors.

In addition, on BloxFlip’s Discord server, users who have bet at least 1 million Robux (approximately 10,000 pounds: approximately 2 million yen) can apply for the status ‘Whale’. When they apply for this status, a special whale emoji will appear next to their username. In addition, users who have bet 10 million Robux (approximately 100,000 pounds: approximately 20 million yen) can apply for the status ‘Platinum Whale’. At least four ‘Whale’ users and two ‘Platinum Whale’ users on BloxFlip’s Discord server have openly admitted to being minors.

Roblox has been sued by the parents of five children who used illegal online casinos that allowed users to sign up using Roblox credentials. The lawsuit, filed in August 2023, ruled that Roblox must respond to the lawsuit. Attorney James Bilsborough, who is representing the plaintiffs, said, ‘Roblox has known this has been happening for years and has done nothing to address it,’ and ‘Roblox has created a digital playground for children. That’s the Roblox platform. So Roblox has a duty to children. It’s a duty to keep children safe,’ criticizing Roblox for its lack of response.

According to court documents, Roblox has been aware of the existence of two illegal online casinos, BloxFlip and RBLXWild, since at least April 2022 and requested hosting providers to shut down the websites at that time. However, it was only in October 2024 that Roblox took legal action against the websites for copyright infringement and violation of its terms of use.

After Sky News presented the results of its investigation, several illegal online casinos announced their closure, but it was also revealed that they quickly started similar online casino sites by slightly changing the URL of their websites. In addition, while the Gambling Commission has blocked some access to online casinos from the UK, illegal online casinos are notifying users on Discord servers, saying things like, ‘If you cannot access the website, please use our software. Access from certain regions may be blocked.’

Iain Duncan Smith, a British politician and advocate of online gambling regulation, said that as long as online casino owners can avoid responsibility, their existence will continue to pose a risk to society. ‘We need stronger powers to track down and arrest online casino owners,’ he said.

Rose said regulators were working to identify the casinos’ true owners. ‘At the end of the day, illegal casino operators are criminals,’ he said. ‘They’re clearly supported by criminal organisations, they’re part of criminal organisations, and it’s important that we all play our part in trying to disrupt them.’