CanadianGamingBusiness

Join SBC Media on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, as we present the latest iteration of SBC Digital Player Protection in partnership with 1xBet.

The global conversation on safer gambling will take centre stage during a full-day digital-only conference dedicated to advancing responsible gaming, regulatory cooperation and player wellbeing across the international betting and gaming landscape. The event will unite regulators, operators, legal experts, academics and thought leaders from around the world to explore how innovation, ethics and regulation can evolve together in the digital age.

Across six key sessions, attendees will gain insight into how technology, collaboration and transparency are shaping the future of responsible gambling.

Session and speakers
Are Stronger Regulations Giving Way to a Stronger Illegal Market?
As governments worldwide impose tighter controls, do stricter rules genuinely strengthen compliance or do they drive players to underground channels? Our panel will examine the unintended consequences of regulation and share strategies to balance compliance with market realities.

Speakers:

Pedro Romero (Betblocker)
Corrine Valletta (Betsson Group)
Andy Danson (Bird & Bird)
Rupert Ecker (Grand Casino Kursaal Ben AG)
David Da Silva (So Good Partners)
Justyna Grusza-Głębicka, PhD (Attorney at Law)

Selling the Dream: The Ethical Limits of Advertising
Advertising influences not only consumer choices but also cultural values and vulnerable audiences. This session explores truth, transparency and ethics in advertising, and asks how businesses can inspire without exploiting.

Speakers:

Richard Hayler (IBAS)
Tracy Parker (Responsible Gaming Council)
Savvas Iliopoulos (OPAP SA)
Richard Dennys (Game Lounge)
Simon Vincze (Casino Guru)
Jyoti Rhambai (Affiliate Leaders)

Monitoring Player Habits with Next-Gen Technology
AI and data are transforming safer gambling and next-generation tools are giving operators unprecedented insight into player behaviour. From AI analytics to real-time telemetry, this panel explores how technology can support engagement, personalization and protection — without crossing ethical or privacy boundaries.

Speakers

Nicole Garret (Allwyn)
Eduards Jakubovs (Betsson Group)
Dr. Alexandra Koerner (Grand Casino Baden AG)
Bernardo Changas (Lisbon School of Economics and Management)
Thomas Fearns (Midnite)
Steve Hoare (Player Protection Hub)

Influencers and Gambling Advertising: Finding the Balance
Influencer marketing has changed the rules of engagement, but where should regulators draw the line? This session explores global approaches to influencer advertising, challenges in safeguarding vulnerable audiences and what the future holds in the digital age.

Speakers:

James Kilsby (VIXIO)
Dr. Maris Catania (LeoVegas)
Martin Lycka (iGaming Expert)
Anders Dorph (Danish Gambling Authority)
Tom Simcock (VIXIO)

Strengthening the Crucial Relationship Between Operators and Regulators
Despite shared goals, operators and regulators often find themselves at odds. Drawing on new research by SBC Media and 1xBet, this panel explores the reality of these relationships, the stumbling blocks, and how both sides can evolve their cooperation for clearer, safer outcomes.

Speakers:

Simon Westbury (1xBet)
Steve Hoare (Player Protection Hub)

Responsible Gambling Reinvented: Protect Players and Margins Together
The next era of responsible gambling will be defined by how well operators can see the whole player, not just isolated signals at onboarding or deposits.

This session explores how leading operators are bridging the gap between fraud prevention and responsible gambling, using AI-driven identity and behavioural intelligence to detect nuanced risk before it becomes a regulatory issue, a brand problem or a drain on net gaming revenue.

Speakers:

Stephanie Trinh (Sift)
Alexander Hall (Sift)
Miguel Luis (LeBull)
Andrea Carvalho (Entain)
Steve Hoare (Player Protection Hub)

Join the discussion. Shape the future. Protect the player. Be part of the global movement redefining responsibility in gaming.

Register for SBC Digital: Player Protection 2025

A 12-year-old child from British Columbia has sued online game creation platform Roblox, alleging that it is designed to be addictive and utilizes “gambling-like mechanisms.”

The Kamloops minor’s father filed the class-action claim in B.C. Supreme Court against Roblox Corp. and Roblox Canada Inc. last week on his child’s behalf, as first reported by CBC News.

“Roblox is designed and operates with structural features and gameplay mechanics that are recognized to be addictive, manipulative and financially exploitative,” alleged the filing, dated Sept. 18 and viewed by Canadian Gaming Business.

Roblox allows its users to create games for themselves and other users to play via Roblox Studio. Essentially a metaverse, it hosts a vast range of user-created games with various age limits. Players have virtual avatars and can chat with and connect with each other, among other options outside of the in-world games themselves. As of February 2025, the company claimed the platform has an average of 85 million daily active users.

Signs of addiction at a young age
The filing stated that the child has played Roblox since age five or six and now spends around two hours a day on it, using various technology platforms to do so.

The child, identified throughout the document as D.J., “exhibited signs of addiction” shortly after they first began playing the game at a young age, added the claim.

“Symptoms include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, irritability and mood swings, impaired concentration and memory, emotional instability, anti-social behaviour, loss of interest in other activities, fatigue and low energy, inappropriate behaviour and language and decreased social skills.”

The suit asserts that Roblox, with its supposed deliberately addictive design, targets children as a core demographic and that 40% of its users are 12 or younger.

While Roblox is free-to-play, players can buy and sell using the in-world Robux virtual currency, which can also be purchased with and exchanged for real-world money in some cases. There’s also a monthly subscription service, Roblox Premium, which offers registrants a monthly supply of Robux, discounts on purchasing items, more Robux per purchase, and the ability to trade limited items.

The class-action filing claims that D.J. has spent up to $500 purchasing Robux.

“Roblox does not simply allow microtransactions; it actively equips and incentivizes game creators with tools and monetization systems designed to drive increased spending by users.”

‘Functionally equivalent to gambling’
The lawsuit also took issue with the use of game mechanics like spin-the-wheel contests and mystery boxes. “These chance-based merchandising systems are functionally equivalent to gambling in that they exploit psychological vulnerabilities by leveraging randomized reward structures,” added the lawsuit.

It added that the in-game marketplace encourages speculative trading among minors who lack the financial and cognitive maturity to understand the risks associated with such transactions.

Ultimately, the plaintiffs argued that Roblox’s “harmful design elements” put its users, particularly those underage, at risk of developing recognized addictive gaming disorders. D.J. and his father filed on behalf of all Canadians who claim to be addicted to Roblox and all minors who’ve paid to join Roblox Premium, seeking damages and restrictions on Roblox’s marketing and operation in Canada.

The lawsuit’s claims need to be certified by a judge before it can proceed. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.

“The question the court will ultimately have to decide is whether Roblox engaged in deceptive behavior that prevented users, children and their parents from understanding the risk that could befall users of Roblox, if it is found that Roblox was created in such a way that allowed users and children to become addicted to the platform,” Justin Giovannetti, a lawyer for Slater Vecchio LLP, which helped with the suit, told CBC.

Roblox asks California judge to toss another lawsuit
Roblox has faced legal challenges in the U.S., including one in California that the company asked a federal judge to throw out on Sept. 18, the same day the B.C. suit was filed. That suit alleged that Roblox facilitated gambling by children using its Robux in-house currency in virtual casinos created in the game’s metaverse and operated by third parties.

The California plaintiff claimed that Roblox knowingly allowed those third parties to accept wagers using Robux and charged a 30% fee to convert Robux used in the virtual casinos back into dollars.

The operator-led Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) has selected the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) as its partner to develop a first-of-its-kind U.S. certification for responsible online gaming.

The intention is for the two RG-focused organizations to establish a new industry benchmark through a certification that evaluates operators on their self-exclusion and player support tools, staff training, marketing programs and other key areas through a data-driven, evidence-based approach. The aim is to help operators beef up their RG programs and practices to go beyond merely meeting provincial and state regulatory requirements.

RGC and ROGA will begin developing the framework for the certification framework, which will be used to evaluate all ROGA members upon completion.

ROGA’s membership accounts for 90% of the legal U.S. sports betting industry in terms of handle. Its eight members include six of the biggest names that are licensed and offering online casino and online sports betting in Canada’s regulated iGaming province of Ontario:

bet365
BetMGM
DraftKings
FanDuel
PENN Entertainment, owner of theScore Bet
Bally’s

The other two members, Fanatics Betting and Gaming and Hard Rock Digital, are not currently offering iGaming in Ontario, but both operators are exploring possibly expanding north of the border.

Operators lean on RGC expertise
In the Toronto-headquartered non-profit RGC, ROGA and its operator members have partnered with an organization that has been one of the world’s foremost leaders in player protection, prevention and responsible gaming solutions for more than 40 years.

The RGC conducts research, consults with stakeholders including operators and regulators, rolls out practical initiatives, provides education and develops and implements best practices. It also has its own accreditation program, RC Check, developed in consultation with policy makers, gambling providers, players and people who have experienced gambling harm.

RG Check accreditation helps both land-based and online gambling providers evaluate, monitor and manage all aspects of their RG strategy. It existed for brick-and-mortar gaming before Ontario launched regulated iGaming in April 2022, and iGaming Ontario (iGO) mandates that all regulated iGaming operators must achieve RG Check. RG Check accreditation is valid for three years before operators need to reapply and get certified all over again.

ROGA said that RGC’s expertise will serve as a critical resource in the creation and management of the certification program, and RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy said the new U.S. certification “will build on years of evidence-based work and experience building RG Check as a trusted standard.”

RGC and Shatley first worked together back in 2023, before ROGA was formed, and RGC and ROGA collaborate with each other and lived-experience specialists EPIC Global Solutions and mental health service provider Kindbridge Behavioral Health on the “Know Your Play” campaign, an initiative providing U.S. college students with detailed content focused on responsible gaming, mental health and well-being and financial literacy.

Collaboration always key, RGC tells CGB
RGC’s Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, Tracy Parker, told Canadian Gaming Business earlier this year that the RGC recently updated RG Check after thorough consultation to ensure that it is a robust and relevant accreditation program that keeps up with the rapid pace of change in iGaming.

“We have found we’ve needed to talk to more people,” Parker told CGB. “It really is about the collective understanding of impact and collaboration around solutions. And that’s not just operators. We need to be talking to manufacturers and marketing affiliates, payment solution providers, leagues, athletes, coaches, university campuses, the whole ecosystem.

“New forms of gambling create new risks. I think there’s a lag in RG awareness generally, and we work on keeping pace with the evolution of the industry. It’s a constant effort to keep up.”