Gaming Platform Pays $12M to Settle Nevada Lawsuit
Gaming platform settles with Nevada for $12 million, adding age checks, youth chat limits, and $10 million over three years for programs.
Cuneyd Erdogan ·
An interactive gaming platform has agreed to a $12 million settlement with the state of Nevada, a deal that requires the company to strengthen safeguards for minors who use the service. Officials said the agreement is designed to expand protections for younger users while also directing funding toward youth-focused initiatives and safety efforts.
Under the settlement, $10 million will be allocated over three years to support youth programs and non-digital activities. The agreement also provides funding for a law enforcement liaison position and an online safety awareness campaign, according to the terms described in the settlement.
The deal sets out several product and policy changes aimed at reducing risks for minors. Age verification will become mandatory for all users. In addition, the platform must limit nighttime notifications for minor users, a measure intended to reduce late-hour engagement for younger accounts.
The platform will also deploy facial age estimation technology as part of its approach to managing interactions between users. The settlement requires the company to use this capability to limit chat features so that users are grouped with others of similar ages, as described in the agreement.
Chat restrictions are a central element of the new requirements. Adult users and users under 16 will not be able to chat with each other unless the communication is with a trusted friend. The settlement specifies that trusted friends can be added through a QR code or by using phone contacts.
To address potential circumvention, the platform will monitor for age misrepresentation. It will also create specialized accounts for users under 16. These accounts will block adult-rated content and require games to be vetted for suitability before being made available to those users.
Parental oversight tools are being broadened as well. The settlement expands parental oversight features to cover all users under 16, extending controls and visibility for guardians across that age group.
The Nevada agreement comes as litigation continues in other states related to child safety on the platform. The settlement outlines a set of operational changes and funding commitments in Nevada, while leaving uncertainty around how ongoing cases elsewhere may develop and whether additional jurisdictions will seek similar terms.