Gaming Platforms Like Roblox Used by Crime Gangs to Groom Children, Victoria Warns

Organised crime networks are exploiting online gaming platforms including Roblox to groom children and recruit them into criminal activity, Victoria’s violence prevention chief has warned.

Andrea Davidson, head of Victoria’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), said platforms that provide connection for young people are also creating new vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

“We also know that young people can often gather through gaming platforms now, which can be a real sense of belonging for them, but also is an opportunity or a vulnerability for them to be groomed as well,” Davidson said during a press conference on Feb. 26 alongside Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan.

She said offenders often initiate contact through in-game chat functions, posing as peers to gain trust. However what begins as casual online interaction can escalate into exploitation.

“Young people are describing pressures and approaches that feel sophisticated, persistent and hard to escape. What they’re describing is grooming and exploitation, where children and adolescents are being approached, targeted and recruited by adult offenders, gangs and organised crime—drawn into violence, drug distribution, online harm and offline coercion, often long before anyone recognises what’s happening,” she added.

She warned that recruitment tactics are rarely obvious at first.

“This harm I’m describing often begins subtly. It can start through gaming platforms, encrypted messaging apps or social media spaces.”

Roblox Under Notice

Roblox been under scrutiny in recent weeks over its child safety record.

The company says it has invested heavily in moderation and platform safeguards over nearly two decades.

“Every day, tens of millions of people of all ages have a safe and positive experience on Roblox,” the company said in a statemnet in 2024, soon after Turkey banned the platform.

“We spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to keep our platform safe.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Roblox for further comment.

$1 Million Anti-Gang Response

Allan has announced a $1 million for the group Think Village to deliver a statewide anti-gang program.

The initiative will run workshops designed with community leaders to help parents and young people recognise the warning signs.

A new digital awareness campaign will also be launched to help teenagers identify manipulation tactics and seek support early.

According to Allan’s office, the VRU model is based on experiences like the ones in the United Kingdom, which have resulted in a 48 percent fall in violent crime in Scotland and a 28 percent drop in knife-related injuries among young people in London.