So I’ve had some conversations with other DevForum members and reviewed some DevForum articles but I’ve been given conflicting opinions and have no definitive answer and I was wondering if I could use this thread as an open discussion to resolve the situation once and for all. Although the chances of getting a response from a Roblox Staff member are low, I just want to have some clarity on the situation.
The issue at hand is, what does Roblox define as gambling - As various games have “Spinner” like systems that could be classified as gambling, due to the unpredictable outcome of your money.
The other issue I’m facing is one related to one of Roblox’s Community Rules:
I believe as long as you aren’t using Robux directly, its ok. Premium currencies are also fine, as long as they can be earned for free. All though I’ve definitely seen games that use Robux for item spinners before and get no punishment, some are big and still up.
Yea that’s what I want to query the issue before I proceed as large games have got away with it, but some could dispute whether it complies with the rules
Purchasing random items is only considered gambling if the numerical odds of receiving each item is not clearly indicated, whether this is for Robux or other currency.
So long as a spinner correctly declares the odds of winning each prize, this does not classify as gambling.
As of the same date of this edit, Roblox has officially moved to ban simulated gambling by September 18th, 2023 (in 3 months), which means that all forms of gambling are no longer allowed on the platform. This contrasts the prior stance to which, as long as there was no Robux involved, it could be passable.
The advice in this post is no longer accurate. Please avoid sharing this as an answer. For more information, please see Updating our policy on simulated gambling in the thread Create Experiences for People 17 and Older on Roblox.
Spinner systems are circumstantial. You may end up needing to follow a different policy if the spinner always guarantees that players will win items and there is Robux involved. Most spinners typically fall under paid random virtual items but if there’s a losing option in which the player gets no items after payment then that would fall under the gambling policy.
Keep in mind that gambling and paid random virtual items adhere to two different policies on the platform (cc @souppression) and are primarily dictated by the involvement of Robux as far as moderation is concerned. You need to be very clear and concise with how you offer advice on these threads, as some minor details can be left out (cc @KdudeDev).
Here’s a handy chart I drew up regarding this situation. The colour schema might be bad for dark theme users so I apologise, I use DevForum white theme. I’ve included a white background so you can open the image in a new browser or zoom in to see the items.
So answering your question, what does Roblox define as gambling? That is specifically the use of Robux directly or by proxy on a paid random item generator where it is possible for the item generator to generate nothing (a losing result). This is explicitly outlawed on the platform and will result in moderation action against your account.
On the other hand there’s another policy, paid random virtual items. This policy is in effect if it is possible to always win an item from your random item generator. In that case, you may keep it up but you must disclose the exact numerical odds of obtaining an item from it if Robux is involved directly or by proxy. The Developer Hub has an article on it, Virtual Items Policy, in addition to the announcement thread as linked in the post above which contains the important information.
In-game currencies classify as Robux use if the currency can be purchased with Robux. If your in-game currency is only obtainable through completing tasks and playing the game then it does not constitute as Robux or real currency use and you may freely put it towards gambling as well as lootboxes without the chances of winning certain items from it disclosed.
I wrote another lengthy post a while back that explains the circumstances as well, but if you’ve read this far then that post is essentially an echo of what I wrote above. Check that out here:
Keep in mind that Roblox does not police content, so games with gambling/undisclosed odds on lootboxes are either in accordance with the policies or have not been brought to moderation attention. You can help moderation investigate these cases by using the Report Abuse feature.
It seems that as long as you do pay out (as in, there can’t be a “loss” situation persay) and you declare the odds somewhere in the game, it’s allowed (and the odds can be as garbage as you like)
Source: You know that one p2p “arcade” game full of luck based games in it? Yeah, it’s still alive.
I appreciate the lengthy and detailed response that clears up alot in regards to the rules. Just one quick question, if the currency can be indirectly influenced by robux which in turn can be used for “gambling” does that fall under the right side of the flow chart?
Obligatory I am not Roblox staff and my answer is not authoritative. My response is based on my interpretation of the rules, research and common sense (moderation is heavily context-based).
Typically to stay on the safe side I treat this as a gray area to avoid completely but there seems to be leeway since moderation looks towards context and you really have to grasp what the policies are primarily trying to prevent. The general gambling policy tries to prevent loss of currency while paid random virtual items prevents users from spending on lootboxes without full disclosure of what they’re going to be getting into when they spend.
So really, it depends on the extent of influence the Robux has here to determine if your case would end up making your system lean towards a different side or not. If by influence you mean a currency booster game pass, then the user’s purchase is always honoured because they always gain their exact purchase (they get x% more currency when completing tasks). Such a game pass wouldn’t change the policy you need to adhere to. There might be other specific kinds of purchases that do change it.
The number one thing Roblox wants to ensure is that users get something out of a purchase.
