First PEGI, now YouTube -related concerns

Balatro may be poker-themed – as in, you accumulate points by forming poker hands – but it is certainly not a game that endorses or even mimics gambling. Despite PEGI and now, YouTube failing to clarify the distinction, the successful game’s developer LocalThunk has once again addressed this misunderstanding.

“It seems Balatro videos are being rated 18+ on YouTube now for gambling,” LocalThunk posted on social media, referencing a video from the YouTube channel Balatro College, which asserts that 119 of their 606 videos received age restrictions in just one day.

As the channel points out, on March 19, YouTube revised its community guidelines to understandably restrict videos that feature “depictions or promotions of online casino sites or applications.” It appears that the platform has incorrectly targeted Balatro and penalized numerous content creators focused on Balatro by imposing age restrictions, which generally diminishes a video’s likelihood of reaching the algorithm and achieving success.

“It’s wonderful that we’re shielding children from discovering what a 4 of a kind is and allowing them to instead watch CS [Counter-Strike] case opening videos,” LocalThunk continued.

This isn’t the first instance such expectations have impacted the game, nor the first time LocalThunk has criticized games that actually do allow players to wager real-world money for a chance to obtain something in-game, like these Counter-Strike microtransactions. Rating boards like PEGI punished the game with an unusually high age rating in the UK, and it was even temporarily removed from storefronts in several countries last year due to gambling-related worries.

At that time, LocalThunk stated: “I do not support gambling (placing something of personal value on an uncertain occurrence) nor do I believe that Balatro contains any gambling. I did incorporate risk/reward mechanics and RNG into Balatro, but those are fundamental mechanics within the broader genre.”

He subsequently achieved victory in the battle against PEGI’s 18+ rating, yet similar issues continue to arise as they do now.

Balatro creator can finally appreciate his own roguelike after conquering every deck at every difficulty: “All this time playing has eradicated any negative feelings I had towards it”