The 2024 Game of the Year nominee Balatro is having its videos tagged as age-restricted by YouTube, due to alleged gambling-related content.
Popular roguelike deck-building game Balatro has found itself at the center of a YouTube age-restriction controversy. The platform categorised Balatro content as gambling-related, which has led to severe visibility issues for content creators who covered the game.
The issue was first highlighted by Balatro University, a YouTube channel dedicated to the game, which reported that 119 of its 606 videos had been age-restricted, with 24 out of 30 appeals rejected.
This fiasco started after YouTube updated its community guidelines on 19 March, 2025. YouTube enforced stricter age restrictions on content depicting or promoting online casino sites or apps. Balatro, a strategy-based roguelike with poker-inspired mechanics, was erroneously caught in the crossfire. The game doesn't involve real-money gambling, yet YouTube’s algorithm has flagged numerous videos featuring the game, restricting them to 18+ audiences.
The game’s creator, LocalThunk, expressed frustration on social media, sarcastically noting that YouTube was “protecting children from learning what a four-of-a-kind is while allowing them to watch Counter-Strike loot box openings.”
This isn't the first time Balatro has struggled with age ratings. The game previously got a PEGI 18 classification from the rating board, which caused it to be removed from some countries. However, the decision was later overturned to PEGI 12 after an appeal by the developer.
Balatro can be played on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
