A groundbreaking study from Australian researchers has revealed concerning patterns in how children interact with and are affected by the monetization systems in popular gaming platform Roblox, raising alarms about potential long-term consequences and the need for stronger regulatory frameworks.
Gaming Giant Under Scrutiny
Roblox has established itself as a digital powerhouse in the gaming world, surpassing both Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation in monthly active users1. With an impressive 380 million monthly active users globally as of early 2025, the platform has become a dominant force in children’s entertainment. What sets Roblox apart from traditional gaming platforms is its free-to-play model combined with an extensive ecosystem of user-generated content, allowing children to create, share, and play in virtual worlds.
Despite its free access point, Roblox generated a staggering US$3.6 billion in revenue during 2024, primarily through microtransactions and its proprietary virtual currency system called Robux. This financial success has caught the attention of researchers concerned about how these monetization strategies might affect their young user base, especially considering that approximately 42% of Roblox players are under 13 years old.
Recent research conducted by the University of Sydney has delved into this issue, examining how children experience and conceptualize harm in Roblox’s monetization systems. The study, aptly titled “They’re Scamming Me”: How Children Experience and Conceptualize Harm in Game Monetization, provides unprecedented insights into the challenges young players face when navigating digital transactions.
Inside the Research: Methodology and Key Discoveries
The University of Sydney research team, led by Dr. Taylor Hardwick and Professor Marcus Carter, interviewed 22 children aged 7-14 and their parents to understand their experiences with digital spending. Of these participants, 18 were active Roblox players, making the platform a central focus of the study.
To observe real-world decision-making in action, researchers provided each child with an AUD $20 debit card to spend however they wished. The results were telling—while four children opted for physical items like bicycle parts, toys, and sweets, the majority (12 children) chose to make purchases within Roblox. This spending pattern highlights the platform’s success in creating desirable virtual goods that compete with physical products for children’s attention and money.
The study found that while children genuinely valued their Roblox purchases, they frequently expressed frustration over what they described as confusing and predatory monetization mechanics. Children and parents alike used strong terms like “scams,” “cash grabs,” and even “child gambling” to describe their experiences with the platform’s monetization features.
“Our research found that the design of in-game spending features in games such as Roblox cause harm to young users,” explained Dr. Taylor Hardwick in the research findings. These harms manifested in several ways, from confusion about currency values to feelings of being misled by game mechanics.
Currency Confusion and Value Perception
One of the most troubling discoveries in the study was children’s difficulty in understanding Roblox’s complex virtual currency system. An 11-year-old participant described navigating the virtual currency system as “scary,” admitting they had little grasp of the real-world costs associated with their spending.
The problem stems from the multi-layered currency conversions that obscure the actual value of purchases. Players must first convert real money to Robux, and then often convert Robux into game-specific currencies within individual Roblox experiences. A 13-year-old participant, when asked about the real-world value of Robux in Australian dollars, confessed, “I can’t even begin to grasp that”.
Professor Marcus Carter explained, “Virtual currencies obscure purchase values which makes it difficult for children to discern the value of the items they want to buy in digital games. This leads to children spending more than they realize in game”. This confusing system results in children making financial decisions without fully understanding their implications, often leading to unintentional overspending.
Australian players aged 4-18 spend approximately 137 minutes daily on the platform, creating ample opportunity for engagement with these problematic monetization systems. With youth spending significant time immersed in these virtual economies, the potential for financial misunderstandings and overspending increases substantially.
The Loot Box Issue: Random Rewards and “Child Gambling”
Despite Australia’s 2024 ban on loot boxes for users under 15, the research team found that many popular Roblox games continue to feature monetized random reward mechanics. Games such as Adopt Me!, Blox Fruits, and Pet Simulator 99 still encourage children to spend money on chance-based rewards.
One child participant bluntly described engaging with these games as “literally like child gambling“. This comparison highlights the psychological similarities between loot boxes and gambling mechanisms—both rely on unpredictable rewards that trigger dopamine responses and can encourage continued spending in pursuit of rare items.
The researchers created a Roblox account with a listed age of 12 and were immediately able to purchase random reward items in popular games like Adopt Me!. This suggests significant shortcomings in enforcement of Australia’s loot box regulations and raises questions about the effectiveness of current age verification systems.
Parental Perspectives: Overwhelmed and Powerless
Parents interviewed for the study expressed feeling overwhelmed and powerless to protect their children from what they perceived as misleading monetization features. Many reported that these systems created cycles of spending that led to significant emotional and financial distress within families.
The complex nature of Roblox’s currency system makes parental oversight challenging. When children don’t fully understand the value of their digital purchases, parents struggle to guide appropriate spending decisions or set reasonable limits. This confusion often leads to family conflicts when children spend more than anticipated or feel disappointed with their purchases.
Professor Carter emphasized that “with digital gaming becoming an integral part of childhood, urgent steps must be taken to protect young users from financial exploitation”. He called for stronger enforcement of Australia’s existing loot box bans to ensure compliance across digital platforms like Roblox.
Beyond Monetization: Broader Safety Concerns
The monetization issues identified in the University of Sydney study add to a growing list of concerns about Roblox’s safety for children. The platform has previously faced criticism regarding its content moderation practices and has been accused of exposing children to explicit or harmful content through its user-generated games.
According to research by activist short-selling firm Hindenburg Research, Roblox has been the target of concerns due to worries about its social features potentially enabling predatory behavior. With Roblox processing more than 50,000 chat messages every second, the scale of content moderation required is enormous.
Incidents of bullying and grooming have been reported over the years, raising questions about the effectiveness of Roblox’s safety measures. Additionally, concerns have emerged in various countries about the misuse of the Robux currency system. In the UK, for example, there have been reports of children being exposed to illegal gambling through unofficial “Robux casinos” that allegedly accept underage users.
Corporate Response and Regulatory Challenges
When confronted with these criticisms, Roblox’s co-founder and CEO Dave Baszucki has maintained that the company is vigilant in protecting its users. In a recent BBC interview, Baszucki emphasized that “tens of millions of people have amazing experiences on the platform”. He suggested that parents concerned about their children using Roblox should simply prevent them from playing, stating he would “always trust parents to make their own decisions”.
A Roblox spokesperson told The Conversation: “As a platform driven by user-generated content, we equip our developer community with the necessary tools, information, and guidelines that pertain to gameplay elements within their creations, including the recent updates concerning paid random items. We act on reports of developers who do not adhere to these guidelines or fail to utilize our tools effectively to ensure compliance with local regulations”.
Despite these assurances, the University of Sydney researchers believe more needs to be done to protect children on the platform. Professor Carter and his colleagues have called on “policymakers, regulators, and platform developers to work together to ensure that online gaming spaces are safe, transparent, ethical, and designed with children’s best interests in mind”.
Moving Forward: Priorities for Protection
With Roblox’s core player base consisting of children aged 9-15 and around 42% of users under 13 years old, the potential for harm is significant if monetization systems aren’t properly designed with children’s cognitive limitations in mind.
Researchers from the University of Sydney emphasize that “child safety should be prioritized over profit”. They recommend eliminating deceptive monetization features that exploit young players and implementing stronger enforcement of existing regulations like Australia’s loot box ban.
Organizations like 5Rights Foundation have also called on regulators to “significantly up the game” on enforcing regulations, including the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, Online Safety Act, and the EU Digital Services Act. Baroness Beeban Kidron, 5Rights’ Chair and Founder, stated: “Roblox is a consumer-facing product and in order to trade, it has to be safe for children and it has to have by-design mechanisms that mean it does not enable predators to convene or search for children”.
As digital gaming continues to become an integral part of childhood experiences worldwide, the findings from this research highlight the urgent need for more transparent, ethical design practices in games marketed to children. The challenge ahead lies in balancing the innovative potential of platforms like Roblox with meaningful protections for their youngest and most vulnerable users.
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