EvilEye Amulet
Roblox Addiction

Roblox is not a game. It is a child addiction engine. Here is the proof.

39.7 million daily users are under 13. A University of Sydney study calls its mechanics "literally just child gambling." Roblox generated $3.6 billion in 2024 — largely from children who do not understand what they are spending. This page is for parents.

Protect Your Child Now
5.0 on the App Store
39.7 million
daily Roblox users are children under 13 — and the platform was designed to keep them playing
The Numbers

Roblox by the numbers: a child exploitation problem.

Roblox is one of the largest platforms in the world, and its primary audience is children. These numbers reveal the scale of the problem parents are facing.

0M
Daily users under age 13
Roblox Q2 2025 earnings report
0 hrs
Average daily play time per user
Statista, 2025
$0B
Roblox gross revenue in 2024
Roblox 2024 annual report
0
Lawsuits consolidated in federal court
MDL, Northern District of California, Dec 2025

From children's game to child safety crisis

2006

Roblox launches publicly

Roblox launches as a platform where users can create and play games built by other users. It markets itself as a safe, creative space for children to learn and socialize.

2012

Robux virtual currency system introduced

Roblox introduces its virtual currency, Robux, which can be purchased with real money. The abstraction of real currency into virtual tokens begins to obscure the true cost of in-game purchases for children.

2020

Pandemic drives explosive growth

COVID-19 lockdowns send Roblox usage soaring. The platform reaches 32.6 million daily active users. With children isolated at home, Roblox becomes a primary social outlet — and spending skyrockets.

2021

$41 billion IPO valuation

Roblox goes public with a direct listing on the NYSE, valued at $41 billion. More than half its revenue comes from users under 13. Wall Street celebrates while child safety advocates raise alarms.

2024

Hindenburg: "Pedophile hellscape for kids"

Hindenburg Research publishes a damning report calling Roblox "an X-rated pedophile hellscape," citing evidence of grooming, pornography, and violent content. Bloomberg reports that police have arrested at least two dozen suspects since 2018 for abducting or abusing children met via Roblox. Texas AG sues the company.

2025

115 lawsuits, child gambling research

University of Sydney researchers publish a study calling Roblox's loot box mechanics "literally just child gambling." 115 lawsuits are consolidated into a federal MDL. Tennessee and multiple other states file enforcement actions. Roblox reaches 151.5 million daily active users — and 39.7 million of them are under 13.

The Hooks

How Roblox hooks your child.

Roblox is not just a game. It is a platform built on psychological mechanics specifically designed to maximize engagement and spending — from an audience that is overwhelmingly children.

Loot Box Gambling: Slot Machines for Children

Popular Roblox games like Adopt Me!, Blox Fruits, and Pet Simulator 99 use monetized random reward mechanics — loot boxes. Your child pays real money (via Robux) for a chance at a rare virtual item. The odds are deliberately stacked against them. A 2025 University of Sydney study interviewing children aged 7 to 14 found that kids described these mechanics as "scams" and "cash grabs." The researchers called it "literally just child gambling" — because it uses the identical variable ratio reinforcement schedule that powers slot machines, applied to an audience where 42% is under 13.

University of Sydney, "'Literally just child gambling': study urges swift regulation of Roblox's in-game spending" (March 2025)

Social Pressure: If You Don't Pay, You Don't Belong

Roblox creates intense social hierarchies based on virtual possessions. Limited-edition items, premium accessories, and rare pets become markers of status among children. Kids who cannot afford Robux face social exclusion. The platform exploits children's developmental need for peer acceptance by tying social belonging to spending. Limited-time events create artificial urgency, triggering impulsive purchases before children (or their parents) can evaluate the real-world cost. For a child, not having the latest item is not about missing a product — it is about being left out.

Anapol Weiss, "From Fun to Financial Pressure: How Roblox Monetizes Young Players" (2025)

The Robux Abstraction: Hiding Real Money from Children

Roblox converts real money into Robux, a virtual currency with a deliberately confusing exchange rate (currently around 80 Robux per dollar, but rates vary by purchase amount). Individual games then create their own secondary currencies exchanged for Robux. This double abstraction makes it nearly impossible for a child to understand what they are actually spending. One 11-year-old in the University of Sydney study described navigating the system as "scary." The result is predictable: children spend far more than they realize, and parents discover hundreds or thousands of dollars in charges on their credit cards.

University of Sydney (2025); ParentsTogether, "Warning for Parents: Kids spending thousands on 'free' Roblox" (2024)

Infinite Novelty: A Platform That Never Ends

Unlike a traditional game with a beginning, middle, and end, Roblox is a platform with millions of user-generated experiences. There is always another game to try, another world to explore, another item to earn. This infinite content supply eliminates the natural stopping points that exist in conventional games. A child never reaches "the end" of Roblox. Combined with 2.4 hours of average daily play, this creates a pattern where children cycle endlessly between experiences, each one triggering new reward loops, new social dynamics, and new spending opportunities.

Statista, "Roblox DAU and engagement" (2025); DemandSage, "Roblox Active Player Count" (2025)
They're scamming me. … It's literally just child gambling.
— Children aged 7–14 describing Roblox's loot box mechanics, University of Sydney study (March 2025)
The Research

What the research says about Roblox and your child's brain.

This is not parental worry. These findings come from peer-reviewed research, clinical studies on gaming disorder, and investigations by regulators and short-sellers who examined Roblox's own data.

Child Gambling by Another Name

In March 2025, researchers from the University of Sydney published a study interviewing 22 children aged 7 to 14 and their parents about their experiences with Roblox's monetization systems. Despite Australia's 2024 ban on loot boxes for users under 15, the researchers found that popular Roblox games — Adopt Me!, Blox Fruits, Pet Simulator 99 — continue to feature monetized random reward mechanics that function identically to gambling. Parents reported feeling "overwhelmed and powerless" to protect their children. The researchers warned that with 42% of Roblox players under 13, these mechanics could be creating a pipeline to problem gambling.

University of Sydney, School of Architecture, Design and Planning (March 2025); The Conversation, "'Literally just child gambling'" (2025)
42%
of Roblox players are under 13 years old — and exposed to gambling-like mechanics

Gaming Disorder Is a Clinical Diagnosis

The World Health Organization officially recognized Gaming Disorder in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018. Core symptoms in children include tolerance (needing to play more to get the same satisfaction), withdrawal (irritability, anxiety, or sadness when unable to play), and conflict (gaming causing problems with family, school, or basic needs). A 2024 study published in Scientific Reports found that internet gaming addiction in children and adolescents creates a symptom network deeply intertwined with depression and anxiety, with "preoccupation" and "escape" serving as the strongest bridge symptoms connecting gaming addiction to mental health deterioration.

WHO ICD-11, Gaming Disorder (2018); Scientific Reports, "The symptom network of internet gaming addiction, depression, and anxiety among children and adolescents" (2024)
ICD-11
WHO officially classifies Gaming Disorder as a behavioral addiction

Children's Brains Cannot Resist These Mechanics

The prefrontal cortex — the brain region responsible for impulse control, long-term planning, and understanding consequences — does not fully mature until age 25. In children under 13, it is dramatically underdeveloped. This makes children physiologically incapable of resisting the variable reward schedules, social pressure mechanics, and spending triggers that Roblox deploys. Research on loot boxes published in Royal Society Open Science found significant links between loot box spending and problem gambling, with adolescents being particularly vulnerable. Roblox is not exploiting a weakness. It is exploiting a developmental stage.

Royal Society Open Science, "Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling" (2019); Frontiers in Psychiatry (2024)
25
Age at which the prefrontal cortex fully matures — Roblox targets children under 13

$3.6 Billion from Children Who Cannot Consent

Roblox generated approximately $3.6 billion in gross revenue in 2024. More than half of its 151.5 million daily active users are children. The platform's revenue model depends on converting children's play time into spending through Robux, loot boxes, premium subscriptions, and limited-edition items. A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Roblox violates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data from minors without proper parental consent — data that is then used to optimize the spending experience. Children are not just users. They are the product.

Roblox 2024 Annual Report; COPPA class action (Garcia v. Roblox Corp., 2024); DemandSage (2025)
151.5M
daily active users in Q3 2025, the majority of them children

Sleep, Meals, Homework — All Displaced

Research consistently shows that gaming addiction in children directly displaces essential developmental activities. A 2024 narrative review on internet gaming disorder in children found that IGD has measurable negative effects on sleep quality, academic performance, and social development in minors. Children with gaming disorder show increased aggression, attention problems, and cognitive performance issues. With Roblox users averaging 2.4 hours per day — and many playing far more — the platform is displacing homework, physical activity, family time, and sleep during the most critical years of brain development.

MedCrave, "Internet gaming disorder in children: a narrative review" (2024); BMC Public Health (2021)
2.4 hrs
Average daily Roblox play time — longer than a feature film, every single day
Platform Comparison

Why Roblox is uniquely dangerous for children.

Other platforms are addictive. Roblox combines addiction mechanics, real-money gambling, and a predator crisis in a single product that specifically targets children under 13.

Roblox 144 min/day
Fortnite ~90 min/day
TikTok 95 min/day
YouTube 49 min/day
Minecraft ~45 min/day
Sources: Statista 2025, Backlinko 2025, DemandSage 2025. Roblox = 2.4 hours/day (144 minutes).
We found an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.
— Hindenburg Research, investigation into Roblox (October 2024)

What makes Roblox different from other games

Other addictive platforms like TikTok and Instagram harm users through content consumption. Roblox does that and more. It combines gaming addiction, gambling mechanics (loot boxes and random rewards), real-money extraction (Robux spending), social manipulation (status-based exclusion), and a well-documented predator crisis — all in a single product that deliberately targets children under 13. Most social media platforms at least pretend to have age restrictions. Roblox's business model is built on the fact that its primary users are children. The 39.7 million daily users under 13 are not an accident. They are the plan.

Hindenburg Research (2024); 5Rights Foundation, "Gaming platform Roblox unsafe for children" (2024)

The Child Safety Crisis

Beyond addiction: the safety crisis parents need to know about.

Roblox's problems extend beyond screen time. The platform has become a documented site for child exploitation, predatory contact, and regulatory failure. Governments are now taking action.

24+

Arrests for Child Abuse via Roblox

Bloomberg reported that US police have arrested at least two dozen suspects since 2018 for abducting or sexually abusing children they met through Roblox. Hindenburg Research found that predators use Robux as a bargaining tool to exploit children. The platform's chat and messaging features have enabled grooming at scale.

Bloomberg investigation, cited in Hindenburg Research (October 2024)
115

Federal Lawsuits Consolidated

In December 2025, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated 115 Roblox lawsuits in the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs allege the company failed to implement meaningful age verification, allowed predators to pose as children, and did not adequately moderate content or warn parents about risks.

MDL consolidation order, December 2025; ConsumerNotice.org (2026)
5+ States

Attorney General Actions

Texas AG Ken Paxton sued Roblox for "putting pixel pedophiles and profits over the safety of Texas children." Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti filed suit alleging Roblox deceives parents about safety. South Carolina opened a formal investigation. Florida and other states have joined the growing legal offensive against the platform.

Texas AG (2024); Tennessee AG (December 2025); South Carolina AG (December 2025)
For years, Roblox has deceived Tennesseans about the serious safety risks its platform poses for kids, placing profits above child safety.
— Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, lawsuit against Roblox (December 2025)

What Roblox knew and failed to fix

Content Moderation Failures

Despite claiming to prioritize child safety, Roblox's content moderation has repeatedly failed to prevent sexually explicit content, violent material, and abusive speech from reaching child users. The Hindenburg Research investigation found children exposed to pornography, grooming conversations, and extremist content. The 5Rights Foundation, a UK-based child safety organization, concluded that "Gaming platform Roblox [is] unsafe for children." Roblox only began implementing basic safety updates in November 2024 — years after the problems were widely documented.

Hindenburg Research (October 2024); 5Rights Foundation (2024)

Profits Over Protection

Lawsuits allege that Roblox profited from money spent on Robux regardless of how that currency was ultimately used — including by predators who used Robux to groom children. Plaintiffs argue the company ignored red flags because stronger enforcement might hurt its bottom line. A COPPA class action alleges Roblox harvests children's data without parental consent and uses it to optimize engagement and spending. The pattern is consistent: every decision prioritized growth metrics and revenue over the safety of the children who generate that revenue.

Garcia v. Roblox Corp. (2024); Pritzker Hageman, "Roblox Harms to Youth" (2025); ConsumerNotice.org (2026)
The Solution

Breaking the Roblox loop without banning it outright.

Banning Roblox entirely often creates more conflict than it solves. EvilEye gives parents a tool that works differently: it teaches your child to make a conscious choice before every session, building self-regulation instead of resentment.

Roblox's addiction loop works because opening the app is frictionless. Your child picks up their phone, taps Roblox, and they are instantly inside a world designed to hold them for 2.4 hours. There is no pause, no moment of reflection, no opportunity for their still-developing prefrontal cortex to evaluate whether this is how they want to spend their time. EvilEye introduces that pause.

The smile is not a gimmick. Research on embodied cognition shows that the physical act of smiling shifts emotional and cognitive state. When your child smiles before opening Roblox, they move from the automatic, habit-driven mode the platform exploits to a more conscious, deliberate state. They go from "I just opened Roblox without thinking" to "I am choosing to play Roblox right now." Over time, this builds a habit of intentionality that no parental control app can match.

1

Smile to Interrupt

When your child reaches for Roblox on autopilot, EvilEye intervenes. Before the app opens, it requires a genuine smile using iPhone's TrueDepth camera. This two-second pause breaks the reflexive pattern and shifts your child from reacting to choosing. No confrontation required — the system does it automatically.

2

Choose Their Time

After smiling, your child decides how long Roblox stays unlocked. Thirty minutes after homework? An hour on weekends? The choice is theirs, within the boundaries you set. The critical difference is that each session becomes a deliberate decision — not an automatic reflex. Roblox eliminates stopping cues. EvilEye puts one back.

3

Stay Protected

When the chosen time expires, EvilEye steps back in. No arguments, no bargaining, no willpower drain for you or your child. The app locks again and the loop is broken. Over time, the number of reflexive Roblox launches decreases — because your child's brain learns that friction is waiting. Self-regulation develops naturally.

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FAQ

Roblox and your child: your questions answered.

Roblox presents significant safety concerns for children. A 2024 Hindenburg Research report described the platform as a "pedophile hellscape for kids," citing evidence of grooming, sexual exploitation, and violent content. Bloomberg reported that US police have arrested at least two dozen suspects since 2018 for abducting or abusing children they met via Roblox. In December 2025, 115 lawsuits were consolidated in federal court, many alleging the platform failed to protect children from predators. While Roblox introduced some safety updates in 2024, researchers and regulators argue these measures remain insufficient given the scale of the problem.
The World Health Organization recognizes Gaming Disorder in ICD-11. Key signs in children include: preoccupation with Roblox when not playing, withdrawal symptoms (irritability, sadness, anxiety) when access is removed, needing to play for increasing amounts of time, inability to reduce play time despite trying, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, continuing to play despite problems at school or home, deceiving parents about play time, and using Roblox to escape negative feelings. If your child shows several of these signs — particularly if Roblox is interfering with sleep, meals, homework, or relationships — it may indicate a problem that requires intervention.
The average Roblox user spends 2.4 hours (144 minutes) per day on the platform, which is significantly more than most health organizations recommend for children's total daily screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends consistent limits on screen time for children aged 6 and older, ensuring it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, and other healthy behaviors. When Roblox begins displacing homework, meals, sleep, physical activity, or face-to-face social interaction, the amount of play time has become too much — regardless of the specific number of hours. The key question is not "how many minutes" but "what is Roblox replacing?"
Roblox combines multiple psychological mechanisms that exploit developing brains. It uses variable reward schedules through loot boxes and random item drops — the same mechanism that makes slot machines addictive. It creates social pressure through limited-time items and status tied to virtual possessions. Its virtual currency Robux creates psychological distance from real money, making children spend more than they realize. The platform's infinite user-generated content ensures children never run out of new experiences. And critically, children's prefrontal cortex (the impulse control center) is still developing, making them physiologically unable to resist these mechanics the way an adult might.
Roblox generated $3.6 billion in gross revenue in 2024, with over half of its daily users being children under 13. The University of Sydney study found that children struggle with deceptive in-game spending features and confusing currency conversion rates. Parents report discovering hundreds and even thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. ParentsTogether has warned that children are spending enormous amounts on the nominally "free" game. The double abstraction of Robux (real money to Robux to in-game currencies) makes it nearly impossible for children to understand what they are actually spending.
In March 2025, researchers from the University of Sydney published a study interviewing 22 children aged 7 to 14 and their parents about in-game spending experiences. They found that popular Roblox games including Adopt Me!, Blox Fruits, and Pet Simulator 99 feature monetized random reward mechanics that function like gambling — despite Australia's 2024 ban on loot boxes for users under 15. Children and parents described these features as "scams," "cash grabs," and "literally just child gambling." The researchers warned that with 42% of players under 13, these mechanics could create a pipeline to problem gambling, and urged swift regulatory action.
Yes. EvilEye interrupts the automatic, reflexive app-opening behavior that gaming addiction exploits. Before your child can open Roblox, they must smile into their iPhone's front camera using TrueDepth. This creates a brief pause that shifts them from autopilot to conscious choice. They then choose how long Roblox stays unlocked. Instead of banning Roblox outright — which often leads to conflict and workarounds — EvilEye helps children develop self-regulation by making each session a deliberate decision. Over time, the reflexive app launches decrease as the brain learns that friction is part of the process.
As of early 2026, 115 lawsuits have been consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of California. Texas AG Ken Paxton sued Roblox for putting profits over child safety. Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti filed suit alleging Roblox lures children into a dangerous environment while claiming it is safe. South Carolina opened a formal investigation. A COPPA class action alleges Roblox violates children's privacy by collecting data without parental consent. These actions represent a growing recognition by governments that Roblox's business model profits from putting children at risk — and that the platform's self-regulation has been insufficient.

Related Reading

League of Legends Addiction The ranked ladder that never lets you stop Candy Crush Addiction The casual game that is secretly a slot machine YouTube Addiction The rabbit hole designed to never let you leave
EvilEye Amulet

Roblox was designed to hold your child.
EvilEye was designed to give them back.

You now know how Roblox exploits your child's developing brain, what the research says about its gambling mechanics, and what governments around the world are doing about it. The only question left is whether you will wait for regulation — or protect your child today.

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