Balatro might be poker-themed - as in, you score points by putting together poker hands - but it's definitely not a game that promotes or even simulates gambling. Though PEGI and, now, YouTube have failed to tell the difference, so the hit game's creator LocalThunk has once again spoken out about the mischaracterization.
"Apparently Balatro videos are being rated 18+ on YouTube now for gambling," LocalThunk wrote on social media in response to a video from YouTube channel Balatro University, who claims that 119 of their 606 videos were age-restricted within a single day.
