One of the world’s biggest online gaming sites, Roblox, is in the courts. The cases involve the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor, online harassment, and business practices that lead to addiction.

That last charge, involving addiction, is connected to an aspect of online gaming that’s passing mostly under the radar. The “gamblification” of games for children. It’s a charge that’s been levelled at not just Roblox but a number of other high profile companies from Microsoft to Ubisoft. Tricks of the trade from casinos have made their way into the gaming world.

Professor Sara Grimes, professor of communication studies at McGill, spends her time researching how kids, particularly kids in elementary school, interact with tech. How it harms, how it helps, how they use it to communicate with each other, and how it shapes their place in the world. She’s here to talk about what it means when kid’s games turn into gambling.

Host: Bruce Thorson

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured Guest: Dr. Sara Grimes

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

More information:

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/
• https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/roblox-faces-bc-lawsuit-by-12-year-old-addicted-to-website
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-lawsuit-alleges-video-games-are-gathering-childrens-personal-data/

Sponsors: 

CAMH: CAMH is building better mental health care for everyone to ensure no one is left behind. Visit https://camh.ca/canadaland to make a donation and double your impact.  

Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit https://douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.

Squarespace: Check out https://squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.