Junk food ads are thriving in games, exposing a gap in Australia’s laws
New research reveals Australian children are being exposed to widespread junk food marketing through online gaming platforms such as Roblox.
First published by Macquarie University
Australian children are being exposed to widespread junk food marketing through online gaming platforms such as Roblox, despite long-standing efforts to limit advertising to young audiences and efforts by platforms to introduce age-based accounts to give parents greater control over what children see online.
The newly published book Food Advertising to Children in Australia argues gaming environments have become a major blind spot in Australia’s food advertising rules, allowing brands to reach children in ways traditional regulations were never designed to address.
Roblox is now Australia’s most popular gaming platform, with children under the age of 16 spending an average of 137 minutes per day on the app. While restrictions exist for users under 13, the book notes that 42 per cent of Australian players fall within this age group – raising concerns about the effectiveness of current safeguards.
Evidence has shown even brief exposure to high-fat, high-sugar food advertising increases children’s daily calorie intake.
“Roblox is the most popular gaming platform among Australian children aged four to 12,” says Macquarie University media and communications lecturer and the book’s author, Dr Nipa Saha.
“The platform’s popularity among children made it the favourite playground of corporate advertisers. For example, in the McDonald’s Land game on Roblox, players cook, create, and have fun managing their own McDonald’s. The players take orders, prepare combos, and make home deliveries to their gamified customers’ homes.
“Children aren’t just watching ads any more, they’re interacting with them inside games. These are immersive environments where marketing is woven into gameplay, and current regulations simply don’t account for that.”
Dr Saha says the findings point to a growing gap between policy and children’s real-world media use.
The research also highlights privacy concerns, with platforms collecting personal data including names, ages and email addresses, which can be used for targeted marketing.
This raises questions about whether current laws, including the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, are equipped to deal with newer digital environments such as gaming platforms.
Dr Saha argues that without broader regulation, food companies will continue to reach children through channels that fall outside existing rules.
