Russian policymakers and lawmakers are at loggerheads over proposals to slap gambling warnings on Roblox, Minecraft, and other video games popular among teenagers.
Last week, speaking at an event organized by the Russian news agency TASS, Andrey Khodynkov, the head of the Russian Center for Combating Gambling Addiction, proposed classifying several popular video game titles as forms of gambling.
“Three-fifths of popular video games, played by around 20 million children, feature gambling-like mechanisms,” Khodynkov said, in comments recorded by the Russian media outlet Mash last week.
“Parents need to know about” the addictive nature of these games, and all addictive video game titles need “disclaimers,” he added.
These, said Khodynkov, would function much like mandatory health warnings on cigarette packs.
Khodynkov did not mention all of the games by name, but made specific references to both Roblox and Minecraft.
The titles, he said, all “employ online casino-style mechanics” to leave children “hooked.” These include random rewards, in-game purchases, and the “constant pursuit of rare items,” he said.
Russian Roblox, Minecraft Warning Plans Gather Pace
Regulators at the TASS event who back the center’s call say they are currently looking for ways to “force developers” to comply with their proposed rules.
However, they added that “no final decision has been made yet.”
Critics say that micropayments, loot boxes, and other popular trends are driving up gambling-related problems in teens.
Some also claim that Russian children whose parents let them use smartphones from a young age are at greater risk of developing betting addiction.
However, some lawmakers have taken issue with the center’s proposals.
The State Duma lawmaker Vitaly Milonov took to Telegram to urge the center to “leave Roblox and Minecraft alone.”
“I would like to ask my respected colleagues and other experts to leave children’s toys alone,” Milonov said. “There can be good and bad elements in all kinds of children’s games.”
He urged the center to focus its energy on tackling other, more pressing matters.
And Milonov said that parents should let their children play Roblox, Minecraft, and other titles, provided they explain that such games “can contain bad elements.”
“It’s an idea that has been spirited out of thin air,” Milonov added.
Rocky Road for Roblox in Russia
Roblox has previously fallen afoul of Russian regulators, who imposed a nationwide ban on the game in December last year.
However, after widespread anger from both parents and children, Moscow announced it would lift its ban last month.
Russian officials said Roblox had agreed to enforce age restrictions on certain features and adhere to other restrictions.
The center, meanwhile, has previously taken aim at the Russian sports industry, claiming it is “entirely funded” by betting firms.
“Nowadays, all sports are financed by bookmakers,” Khodykov said last year. “Team names, championships, and stadiums all bear the names of gambling firms.”
Per figures released by the State Duma’s Committee on Budget and Taxes, some 12% of Russian adults are addicted to gambling.
Most gambling addicts are males aged 25 to 44, the statistics show.
