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Will Roblox Be Adding Online Gambling to Its Platform?
By Shane Addinall Feb 13, 2023 EntertainmentA recent Roblox leak reports that the cash-strapped company will finally begin offering online gambling on its platform to show a profit. But is it ready to add casino games safely and securely?In 2006 the online gaming platform Roblox opened to the public. At the time, it was exclusively available pc users as the site did not just offer games for people to play but allowed them to create their own customer experiences.
The collection of casual games combined with its ever-evolving creation tools has seen the site skyrocket in popularity. According to a report by Business of Apps, the platform features more than 40 million games, with the top three of these 'places' generating a combined total of 238.6 billion visits.
Revenue Does Not Equal Profit
With more than 160 million users, over 400 million downloads on Android and Apple mobile devices, and billions of Euros in revenue, the Roblox corporation has one major problem – it has never made a profit.
According to analysis provider Statista, Roblox has reported quarterly losses as far back as 2018. The greatest of these was Q3 2022, where the company lost $301.9 million, the same quarter that it generated $517 million in revenue!
The biggest reason for these ongoing losses is the platform's demographic split. A report by TechCrunch revealed under 13s made up most of the site's 160 million accounts. A demographic not known for its access to disposable income.
Roblox Raises Some Eyebrows
The company has been working to shift its user base towards an older demographic, touting itself as an early adopter of the metaverse. To achieve this, the site has been creating experiences with globally recognised musicians and encouraged NFT and digital artists to create clothing lines and saleable meta gear.
One of the recent revelations by a Roblox whistle-blower, Bloxy News, is that the company is planning to create 18+ ‘places’ on its platform that will allow profanity, simulated alcohol use, dating and online gambling.
While the shift in focus makes sense from a business standpoint, there are concerns that the platform needs to be geared towards safely introducing online casino games and other adult-only content.
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