Advocacy Groups Urge FTC to Investigate Roblox Over Child Spending Practices
US advocacy groups seek FTC probe into Roblox for kid spending
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The National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Fairplay are calling for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into Roblox Corp for allegedly coercing children into excessive spending through misleading game mechanics. They claim the platform obscures costs and employs tactics that pressure young users to buy virtual currency, Robux, to keep up with peers.
- 01Roblox's revenue reached $4.9 billion in 2025, primarily from in-game purchases, despite a reported net loss of $1.1 billion.
- 02Only 1.4% of Roblox's 132 million daily active users are paying players, indicating a reliance on in-game spending.
- 03The advocacy groups accuse Roblox of using deceptive marketing strategies, including false scarcity and engagement-maximizing designs.
- 04Roblox offers parental controls, allowing parents to set spending limits and monitor their children's activity on the platform.
- 05The FTC has previously acted against games for misleading children about costs, including a $20 million settlement with Cognosphere over loot box practices.
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The National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Fairplay, two child safety advocacy groups, are urging the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Roblox Corp for allegedly coercing children into excessive spending on its gaming platform. They claim that Roblox employs deceptive practices, such as obscuring the exchange rate between real money and its virtual currency, Robux, making it difficult for young players to understand the actual cost of in-game items. The groups argue that features like false scarcity and reward mechanisms pressure children to spend more time and money on the platform. Despite generating $4.9 billion in revenue in 2025, Roblox reported a net loss of $1.1 billion. The platform's user base includes a significant number of children, with 35% of users under 13. Roblox maintains that it provides a safe environment and offers parental controls to help manage children's spending. The FTC has a history of investigating games for misleading marketing to children, having previously settled with Cognosphere for $20 million over similar issues.
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If the FTC investigates and finds Roblox's practices deceptive, it could lead to stricter regulations on how gaming platforms market to children, potentially affecting how parents manage their children's spending.
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