by AnneMoss Rogers and contributing author, Nicole Runyon LMSW
From Gaming to Gambling: The Hidden Risk in Your Child’s Screen Time
Games like Roblox are introducing children as young as five to gambling-like behaviors through virtual betting with fake money. For example, Roblox features kid-friendly games like Plinko, a simple game of chance.
Players click to drop a ball that bounces through pegs and lands in different slots, each offering a prize or reward. Much like a slot machine, Plinko’s appeal lies in the excitement of unpredictability and winning rewards, even though no real money is involved.
This early exposure can subtly condition young children to enjoy and seek out gambling-style games, potentially increasing their risk for gambling addiction later in life. Read on to understand how.
No Skill Required—Just the Dopamine Rush of Risk and Reward
The prizes are small, which is a tactic to encourage the child to play the game longer to win the grand prize.
There is:
- No skill involved
- No critical thinking
- No decision-making
A child’s brain is developing and needs real-world challenges to learn important life skills. So if a child is on a device playing a game, they are not doing developmental tasks in the real world.
Games that lack developmental value prevent growth and maturity
They can also overstimulate the brain and lead to emotional dysregulation or reduced resilience in children.
Ninety percent of brain development happens before a child is six years old. Many children under the age of six are playing these games.
The remaining 10% of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, isn’t fully developed until a person is 25. This part of the brain is responsible for key executive functions and life skills.
By disrupting early brain development, these games can impair the growth of the prefrontal cortex—limiting key skills like
- impulse control
- attention and focus
- decision-making
When children are exposed to online games at such an impressionable age, the patterns of gambling—risk and reward—become normalized and internalized.
These games trigger powerful dopamine releases
This reinforces a cycle of instant gratification without effort or real-world consequences. Over time, the brain begins to crave that dopamine “hit,” forming habits that resemble addiction.
Unprepared for Real Life
By the time these children reach their teen years or enter adulthood, many are unprepared for real-world challenges. Their brains haven’t fully developed the capacity to regulate behavior, emotions, or process long-term consequences, leaving them overwhelmed and confused.
As a result, they often internalize that shame—and without healthy coping strategies, they turn to the only relief they know, chasing dopamine through more gaming, gambling, or other addictive behaviors.
Just Like Tobacco Companies, Big Tech Aims to Addict Kids
It’s the age-old marketing ploy. Hook them young, so they have lifetime users.
When we describe those who are in active addiction, we also refer to those individuals as “users.” So it’s no coincidence that big tech marketers call their 5–25-year-old customers “users.” That alone connotes the product as addictive.
Predatory advertisers know how to lure vulnerable children and capture interest in their products by using language to tempt them with phrases like these, broken down by categories.
1. Promise of Excitement & Adventure
- “Your next big quest starts here!”
- “Unlock secrets and treasures!”
2. Promise of Social Connection & Friendship
- “Play with friends online!”
- “Join millions of players worldwide!”
- “Chat, compete, and create together!”
3. Lure Kids with Reward & Achievement
- “Win amazing prizes!”
- “Level up and become a champion!”
- “Daily rewards waiting for you!”
4. Promise of Creativity & Customization
- “Build your own world!”
- “Unlimited creativity at your fingertips!”
5. Uses Urgent Calls to Action to Tap into Kids’ Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
- “Hurry, don’t miss out!”
- “Exclusive rewards for a limited time!”
6. Promises of Instant Gratification
- “Easy to learn, hard to master!”
- “Jump in and start playing instantly!”
Big Tech Also Uses Persuasive Messaging To Win Parents Over
They do this by labeling their products as “safe” and “kid-friendly” and setting age limits.
However, these random age limits rarely reflect any real knowledge of child development and are not based on any independent data. It’s about as meaningful as labeling a package of lettuce as “gluten-free.”
For example, one social media app markets itself as a “safe alternative to TikTok,” yet allows children as young as four to use it, and certainly has no scientific data behind the claim.
Media Companies Don’t Sell Products. Our Children Are the Products
Kids are being manipulated under their parents’ roofs! Parents think their kids are playing innocent child games and that they are safe. The reality is that children’s vulnerable brains are getting rewired for addiction.
Young children and teens are also exposed to social media apps like TikTok, which play clips of gambling influencers from Kick, a streaming platform. Kick has no restrictions and allows videos of illegal underage gambling, which is sensationalized. Influencers who appear as though they are making millions from online gambling are actually making their money from advertisers because they have large followings.
Underage children are seeing this and think they can become overnight millionaires too. They are using a modality called FanDuel to get around age restrictions and gamble online.
There is no safe tech!
We must stop allowing children unfettered access to what we think is “safe” tech.
Tech companies are not here to care for our children. They are here to use them for future profits. It’s up to us, parents, to protect our children and set boundaries even if they test those limits.
And kids will test those limits at first, but they will relent as they find joy in other activities.
Here’s the Truth, Parents.
We are no match for big tech if we are disconnected from our children. If we stay close to them, influence them with our values, time, and love, they won’t need to play Roblox, gamble, or use social media.
Let’s help them fill up in the real world so they aren’t seduced into dangerous addictions.
Nicole’s Book, Free to Fly
Sources and Data
- Are Video Games a Gateway to Gambling?
- Video Game Playing and Gambling in Adolescents: Common Risk Factors
- The relationship between gambling and video-game playing behavior in children and adolescents
- Video Game Playing and Gambling in Adolescents: Common Risk Factors (PDF)
- Online gaming and gambling in children and adolescents – Normalising gambling in cyber places (PDF)
Nicole Runyon LMSW is a psychotherapist, parent coach, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling book Free to Fly: The Secret to Fostering Independence in the Next Generation. Nicole is renowned for her expertise in child and adolescent mental health.
Backed by an extensive 22-year career in the field. Most importantly, she is the mother of two children.