Roblox dodges lawsuit claims over in-game currency gambling

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge dismissed claims against Roblox in a class action brought by parents who claim the game essentially functions as an illegal gambling ring for children.

Parents sued Roblox in August 2023, according to their complaint, their children lost money while gambling with the game’s virtual currency, Robux, on third-party websites.

The suit claims Roblox knowingly allowed the sites to accept Robux wagers and profited through a 30% fee on currency conversions back into dollars.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed claims of unlawful competition and negligence, finding none of the six cited laws applied to Roblox’s alleged conduct.

The Barack Obama appointee said that one of the laws the plaintiffs argue Roblox broke only applies to entities that take an “affirmative action to facilitate gambling.”

“The situation alleged here is that Roblox, in the normal course of its operations, is knowingly allowing and profiting from the gambling that’s happening in the online casinos, not that Roblox is taking steps to help run the online casinos. Roblox is therefore more akin to a hotel that knows a guest is operating an illicit poker ring in one of its rooms and does not stop it because it’s good for business,” he said.

Additional laws that the plaintiffs assert cover Roblox’s conduct only apply to physical devices, such as slot machines, and not online casinos, Chhabria ruled.

As for the plaintiffs’ claims under the Illegal Gambling Business Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, as well as their negligence claims, the judge found that the plaintiffs had not sufficiently alleged that Roblox had violated any state or federal law.

Representatives for either party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roblox filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s second amended complaint in June, arguing that the plaintiff failed to state a claim against the company.

“Plaintiffs still seek to impose liability on Roblox, although it did not own, operate, or condone the VCs and tried to stop them. Roblox asks the court to streamline this case by fixing outstanding defects in the pleadings,” Roblox said in their motion to dismiss.

In March 2024, Chhabria tossed racketeering claims against Roblox but allowed allegations of negligence and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law to move forward.

That September, he again upheld the negligence claims, finding Roblox acted with misfeasance and had a duty to protect users. However, he dismissed fraud claims, saying the parents failed to show they saw any communication from the company — a ruling that ended all state-law omission claims with prejudice.

Chhabria additionally ruled that requests for injunctive relief should be dismissed for lack of standing. Minor users are not using Roblox anymore and are not likely to use it again in the future, he said, so there is no injury that can support any injunctive relief.

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