YouTube restricts Balatro videos due to 'gambling content', developer outraged

YouTube has started to impose age restrictions on videos related to the game Balatro due to alleged gambling images, which has caused outrage among both content creators and the game developer itself, known as LocalThunk.

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On 19 March, YouTube updated its terms of use to add a clause about the possibility of age restrictions for content that "depicts or promotes online casinos". Balatro, although it uses a standard 52-card deck and casino aesthetics, is not a gambling platform.

However, the Balatro University channel reported that approximately one-sixth of their videos were age-restricted, which significantly reduced their visibility through YouTube's recommendation algorithms.

The game's developer, LocalThunk, expressed its dissatisfaction with the situation, saying: "It's good that we protect children from knowing what a quad is and let them watch videos of case opening in Counter Strike." This reflects his frustration that Balatro-related content is being subjected to restrictions while other potentially more problematic material remains unchanged.

This is not the first time Balatro has faced similar issues. Earlier, the European rating organisation PEGI assigned the game an 18+ rating, but after an appeal by the publisher, the rating was lowered to PEGI 12, recognising that the game contains fantasy elements that mitigate its gambling themes.

Source: @localthunk.bsky.social