Illegal casinos are using Roblox to draw children into online gambling

Published

6 months ago

December 17, 2024

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Illegal online casinos are using Roblox, one of the most popular video games in the world, to draw children as young as 12 into online gambling, a Sky News investigation has found.

Warning: This article contains a mention of suicide.

The unlicensed casinos allow children of any age to sign up using their Roblox accounts and bet their in-game currency (Robux) on games like slots and blackjack.

Winnings can be withdrawn as cryptocurrency – and then converted into real cash.

Roblox is one of the most popular video games in the world, with an estimated 80 million daily active users. Described by its CEO as a “digital playground,” Roblox is particularly popular with children – 42% of its users are thought to be aged 12 or under.

Sky News spoke to one teenage Roblox user in the US who says he gambled around 15 million Robux (£150,000). He started using the sites aged just 14 – seven years below the legal age for gambling in his state.

“My mother tried to get me to stop, but I didn’t,” says Robert*. “I just liked the adrenaline of doing bigger and bigger bets.”

He had no idea, he says, that he was committing a criminal offence.

“I just thought it was something you could do to make extra money,” he says. “I didn’t even know what gambling was.”

Sky News’ investigation focused on three of the largest Robux casinos – BloxFlip, Bloxmoon and RBLXWild. Altogether, the sites receive around 2.8 million visitors each month and facilitate millions of pounds worth of bets.

In response to Sky News’ findings, the Gambling Commission has launched an urgent investigation into the Robux casinos and has blocked them from the UK.

“Criminals will always try and find new ways to exploit people, including children,” the regulator’s chief executive Andrew Rhodes told Sky News.

How do the casinos work?

Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux, is supposed to be used for purchasing in-game items like clothes and experiences. The currency can be bought for real money, typically at a rate of around £1 per 100 Robux.

When a user creates an account on the casino’s website using their Roblox credentials, the casino gains access to their Roblox account. Some casinos ask users to tick a box to say they are over 18 or enter a date of birth, but they do not attempt to verify the user’s age.

The casino can then transfer the user’s Robux to another Roblox account under its control. In exchange, the user is given an equivalent number of virtual gambling chips on the casino’s website.

These virtual gambling chips can be used to play games like roulette and blackjack. They can be exchanged back into Robux, or converted into cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency can then easily be converted into real cash.

Sky News was able to access data from one of these casinos, Bloxmoon, showing that users have lost a total of $11.4m (£8.9m) on the website since it launched in late 2022.

The data includes bets placed on RBLXWild since July 2024, when this website was purchased by Bloxmoon.

Between April and October 2024 alone, users placed bets worth $22.3m. The casinos’ owners paid out only $20.1m as winnings, keeping the remaining $2.2m as revenues. That’s an average revenue of $10,281 (£8,149) per day.

Other casinos may be making even more money. Of the eight casinos identified by Sky News, the most popular is BloxFlip, which receives an average of 2.7 million visitors every month according to website analytics company SimilarWeb.

BloxFlip announced it was permanently shutting down less than 36 hours after Sky News presented its findings to the casino and to Roblox.

“The legal team representing Roblox has begun to apply pressure compelling us to close our platform,” a co-owner of BloxFlip wrote in the casino’s official chatroom.

“No more luring minors in and giving them addictions early,” responded one user, who had bet more than 10 million Robux (£100,000) on the site.

A spokesperson for Roblox told Sky News that the casinos are “in no way endorsed or authorised by Roblox” and that the company has taken “numerous steps to disrupt their activity, which violates our Terms of Use”.

“We have a dedicated group focused on identifying potentially fraudulent activity on Roblox and we work collaboratively with law enforcement authorities where possible to pursue the owners of such websites,” the spokesperson said.

“Our efforts have met with some success, but we would welcome further law enforcement action and vigilance from web hosting providers to shut down sites like this.”

Unlicensed casinos have ‘no safeguards’

Robert says he started gambling on BloxFlip after seeing an advertisement on social media.

“At first I deposited around 100 Robux (£1) – just something small to try it out,” he says.

“I lost it all. Then I deposited more to try to make up for it, which I lost again. Then I deposited more.”

Soon, he was gambling with his friends every night.

One time, Robert says, a friend threatened to kill himself after losing 20,000 Robux (£200) on a single roulette spin. It wasn’t clear if he was serious, but the group didn’t want to get adults involved for fear of revealing their gambling habits.

“We just tried to calm him down ourselves,” Robert recalls.

Dr Jane Rigbye, chief executive of underage gambling charity YGAM, says that unlicensed casinos have no safeguards in place. This means they are “potentially much more dangerous, both financially and psychologically,” than regulated casinos.

“If children are exposed to gambling at an earlier age, they’re more likely to experience difficulties with gambling later in life,” she adds.

‘Nobody cared’

Robert has no doubt that the websites’ staff know many of their users are underage, based on conversations in the group’s official chatroom on the social media platform Discord.

“There’d be people [in the Discord group] talking about their age in casual conversations with the moderators, the developers of the site,” he says. “They didn’t care. Nobody cared.”

In the BloxFlip Discord users who have wagered at least a million Robux (£10,000) can apply for “Whale” status, giving them a special whale emoji next to their username. Users who have wagered at least 10 million Robux (£100,000) can apply for “Platinum Whale” status.

At least four Whales and two Platinum Whales have openly admitted to being underage in the Discord group.

“I was here since 12 [years old] lol I’m 14 now,” wrote one user, whose screenshots show that he has bet at least 1.1 million Robux (£11,000) on the site.

Another user who is shown to have wagered at least 17.5 million Robux (£175,000), says he turned 16 in November.

He added: “Is it even [worse] that I’m an underage gambler and I have plat whale?!?!?!”

A staff member with the title “head of community” even acknowledged that one “Whale” was underage. After the user stated his height, the staff member said: “you are 14 right you probably got a bit to grow still.”

The user’s screenshots show he has bet more than 5.2 million Robux (£52,000) on the site.

Roblox is being sued over the websites

Roblox is now fighting a class action lawsuit in the US by the parents of five children who used these casinos.

The lawsuit, originally filed in August 2023, was given permission to proceed in September 2024 after a judge ruled that Roblox had to answer the parents’ accusations of negligence.

“They knew for years it was happening, and they didn’t do anything,” says James Bilsborrow, the lawyer leading the case against Roblox.

“Roblox has created a digital playground for children – that’s the purpose of their platform,” he says. “They have a duty to these kids, a duty to keep them safe.”

Court filings show that Roblox has been aware of BloxFlip and RBLXWild since at least April 2022, when it contacted their hosting providers asking that the sites be shut down.

It was only in October 2024, however, that Roblox initiated legal proceedings against the websites – accusing them of copyright infringement and breaking its terms of use.

Roblox denies all wrongdoing and says it “employs multiple methods to detect and disrupt bot accounts” connected with the gambling websites.

The parents suing Roblox are also taking legal action against the gambling websites, but so far none of the websites’ owners have responded to the lawsuit.

One of BloxFlip’s owners told the website’s users on their chatroom that “many companies get sued” and that it is “part of doing business”.

Taking the websites down

The Bloxmoon website only went offline on 26 November, after Sky News alerted the Gambling Commission which then sent its own takedown request to the website’s hosting provider.

Dozens of users flooded Bloxmoon’s official chatroom, with one asking if the site had been “taken down by the federal government”.

Within 36 hours, however, the website re-emerged at a slightly different web address. RBLXWild was later also taken down only to re-appear at another new address.

The websites continued to receive thousands of dollars worth of bets until 2 December, when users again began complaining that the site was blocked in certain countries, including the UK.

One of the website’s staff told users in the official chatroom that they could get around the block by using free software that masks a computer’s location.

“If you are unable to access the website please use [the software], certain regions could be blocked at this time,” one of the website’s staff said in the official chatroom. “We are handling the situation.”

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who leads a parliamentary group on gambling-related harms, says that the casinos will continue to pose a risk as long as the owners are able to escape accountability.

“What you have to do is take them out of the game, so they can’t just move domains,” says Sir Iain. “There needs to be greater powers to seek these people out, arrest them and put them inside.”

Chief executive of the Gambling Commission, Andrew Rhodes, says the regulator is working to identify the casinos’ real owners.

“At the end of the day, illegal casino operators are criminals,” he says.

“They’re supported by criminal gangs and are part of the criminal underworld. It’s important all of us play our part in trying to frustrate them.”

That includes parents, who Mr Rhodes says need to be “vigilant” to what their children are doing online. But platforms like Roblox also need to safeguard the people using their services, he added.

“They have to remember that criminals are always trying to find ways to exploit children and others and be alive to that risk.”

‘The adrenaline kept him going’

Robert says he quit after realising that gambling had become an obsession.

“I just wasn’t getting the same feeling when I did other things, compared to when I was gambling at home on a Roblox casino,” he says.

He now regrets getting his friends involved, especially one for whom gambling is against their religion.

“He knew he shouldn’t be doing it, but the adrenaline kept [him] going,” Robert remembers. “Then he lost it all in one night, unfortunately.”

While he’s done with Roblox gambling for good, he does see himself gambling at a legal casino in the future.

Would he have said that if he’d never gambled with Robux?

He pauses to think. “Probably not.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Anyone concerned about their gambling, or that of a loved one, can visit BeGambleAware.org for free, confidential advice and support, or The National Gambling Helpline is available on 0808 8020 133 and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

*Not his real name

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

US

Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say

Published

8 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say

A man accused of killing a US politician and her husband went to the homes of other lawmakers that night, intending to kill them, officials said.

Vance Boelter, 57, meticulously planned his attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the properties and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer, according to Minnesota’s acting US attorney Joseph Thompson.

Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer and shone a torch in the face of some of his victims to disguise his identity.

“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmare,” said Mr Thompson.

Boelter, 57, allegedly shot and wounded Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their Minneapolis home in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He then travelled to the home of another state lawmaker but she and her family were on holiday, so they didn’t answer the door, said Mr Thompson.

Video showed that Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2.24am on Friday but left when the family didn’t respond.

He then drove to the home of an unnamed state senator, but after the Hoffmans’ adult daughter called emergency services to say her parents had been shot, a police officer was dispatched to conduct a wellness check.

That officer saw Boelter’s car parked up the street but thought he was another officer, said Mr Thompson.

Boelter had reportedly altered his car to make it look more like a police car.

He then left and drove to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, according to an FBI affidavit.

Local police officers, also conducting a check, arrived to see Boelter fatally shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, according to the document.

Melissa Hortman was found dead inside.

Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening after a huge manhunt in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.

He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Mr Hoffman and his wife.

Before his arrest, the father of five texted his family group chat saying: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to the affidavit.

His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the document said.

Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside his vehicle.

A Minnesota official said politicians who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list.

US

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial judge dismisses juror after five weeks of evidence – over ‘concerns about his candour’

Published

8 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial judge dismisses juror after five weeks of evidence - over 'concerns about his candour'

A juror has been dismissed from the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex-trafficking trial after hearing five weeks of evidence.

Judge Arun Subramanian said he had “concerns” about the jury member’s “candour” and made the decision after it emerged the man – Juror 6 – had given inconsistent answers about where he lives.

This could indicate he potentially had an agenda, that he wanted to be on the panel hearing the Combs trial for a purpose, the judge said, and there was nothing the juror could say that would “put the genie back in the bottle”.

Diddy trial: Day 24 – as it happened

Questions over whether the juror, a black male, resided in New York or across the Hudson River in the state of New Jersey first arose at the end of last week – but defence lawyers argued dismissing him would disrupt the diversity of the jury.

However, the judge rejected this argument ahead of the start of Monday’s court session, excusing the juror and replacing him with one of the alternates, a white male.

A review of the juror’s answers to questions about his residency during jury selection, along with his subsequent responses to similar questions, revealed “clear inconsistencies”, the judge said.

“Taking these all together, the record raised serious concerns as to the juror’s candour and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury,” Judge Subramanian said.

Leaving the juror on the panel could threaten the integrity of the judicial process, he added.

“The court should not, indeed cannot, let race factor into the decision of what happens. Here, the answer is clear. Juror number six is excused,” Judge Subramanian said.

The charges against ‘Diddy’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex-trafficking, and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has strenuously denied all allegations of sexual abuse. The hip-hop mogul’s defence team has described him as “a complicated man” but say the case is not.

They have conceded Combs could be violent and that jurors might not condone his proclivity for “kinky sex”. However, they argue this was a consensual “swingers” lifestyle and was not illegal.

Special agent and paralegal testify

Following the juror’s dismissal, the sixth week of the trial began – with testimony from a paralegal specialist and a special agent, who both gave evidence as summary witnesses.

This means they were not involved in the criminal investigation into Combs, but were tasked with reviewing some evidence, including charts, phone records and data. In court, the aim is to provide context to the testimony heard so far and how it relates to the charges against the hip-hop mogul.

During paralegal specialist Ananya Sankar’s testimony, the court heard about texts appearing to reference “freak offs” – sexual encounters with male escorts which former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and “Jane”, two of three alleged victims to give evidence during the trial, both say Combs forced them into.

Cassie was in an on-off relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, while Jane – a pseudonym – dated him on and off from the beginning of 2021 to his arrest in September 2024.

Chicken soup and $4,000 cash

In messages from March 2016, Combs’s then chief of staff Kristina Khorram appeared to ask an assistant to set a hotel room up, with items requested including Gatorade, water and chicken noodle soup. “He wants you to go right away now please,” a message said.

In another text, Khorram asked workers to fetch $4,000 in cash and to ensure a male escort was given access to the hotel room, the court heard.

The court also heard about messages sent around the time of the bombshell civil lawsuit filed against Combs by Cassie in November 2023 – which was settled within 24 hours for a then undisclosed sum, revealed to be $20m during the trial.

By this time, Combs was seeing Jane. According to an audio file of a conversation, Jane told Combs after finding out about Cassie’s lawsuit: “I don’t know what I’m feeling… this is so word for word, it is crazy and it just feels sick to my stomach.”

On 28 November 2023, about two weeks later, Jane told Combs she felt he exploited her with their “dark and humiliating lifestyle”.

The following month, the court heard Jane said in a message to Khorram: “He said he would expose me and send videos to my baby daddy… I am traumatised by my time with him.”

Jane said she would not normally involve Khorram in such matters, but told her she needed help as Combs was having one of his “evil-ass psychotic bipolar” episodes.

Jane told Khorram that she was heavily drugged in the tapes.

Although it was not clear exactly what she was referencing, a message sent to Combs by Khorram around the time of the lawsuit seemed to show some friction between the pair.

“If you cannot be honest with me this doesn’t work,” she told him, according to the messages. Combs “keeping things” to himself put them in the “situation we are all in right now”, she added.

Towards the end of the court day, videos entered into evidence under seal were played by the prosecution. This means the jury and lawyers could see and hear what was happening, but members of the public in court could not.

Prosecutors have said they expect to conclude their case later this week. After this, Combs’s defence team will begin theirs.

Last week, Kanye West turned up at the court in Manhattan, New York, to support the rapper, spending about 40 minutes in the building watching proceedings on a monitor in an overflow room.

Combs’s mother, Janice Combs, and several of his children have also consistently shown up throughout the hearing.

Diddy denies charges of sex-trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.

The trial continues.

US

‘It feels like a bad dream’: Minnesota mourns victims of ‘politically motivated assassination’

Published

8 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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'It feels like a bad dream': Minnesota mourns victims of 'politically motivated assassination'

“Holy, holy, holy” they sang at the Church of St Timothy in Blaine, Minnesota.

But the congregation is struggling to comprehend an act of evil – the brutal murder of one of their own.

Melissa Hortman grew up here. The former state speaker and her husband Mark were shot dead in their home on Saturday morning.

Her friend and party colleague, Erin Koegal, was among those attending mass.

“It still feels like a bad dream. I woke up this morning and was like, okay, so that was real,” she said.

“It’s hit me in waves, the grief, and the anger, and the sadness. She was a leader, a true definition of a leader.

“I’ve never known our party without Melissa as the leader and so I can’t, I don’t even know how we’re going to go forward as a caucus without her.”

State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had already been shot and wounded.

Police sent to check on his colleague, Melissa Hortman, didn’t get there in time.

The suspect – 57-year-old Vance Boelter – was detained after a two-day manhunt.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called it a “politically motivated murder”.

Friends of Ms Hortman have told Sky News that her two children feared for their mother’s life after reading divisive rhetoric directed at her online.

Matt Norris, another political colleague of Ms Hortman, was also at church, reflecting on the rise of political violence in America.

“We’ve going to have to do some serious introspection as a state, as a country, and figure out how do we get beyond this,” he said.

“How have we been laying the seeds that have led to horrific acts of violence against public servants like this?

“And it’s going to be incumbent upon us as leaders to set a different tone, to set a different direction for our state and our country so that horrific tragedies like this never occur again.”