Neopets is consistently one of the "stickiest" sites for children's entertainment. Stickiness is a measure of the average amount of time spent on a website. A press release from Neopets in 2001 stated that Neopets.com led in site "stickiness" in May and June, with the average user spending 117 minutes a week.[30] Neopets also led in the average number of hours spent per user per month in December 2003 with an average of 4 hours and 47 minutes.[7] A 2004 article stated that Nielsen//NetRatings reported that people were spending around three hours a month on Neopets, more than any other site in its Nielsen category.[31] By May 2005, a Neopets-affiliated video game producer cited about 35 million unique users, 11 million unique IP addresses per month, and 4 billion web page views per month. This producer also described 20% of the users as 18 or older, with the median of the remaining 80% at about 14.[32] Neopets was consistently ranked among the top ten "stickiest" sites by both Nielsen//NetRatings and comScore Media Metrix in 2005 and 2006.[33][34] According to Nielsen//NetRatings, in 2007, Neopets lost about 15% of its audience over the previous year.[35] In February 2008, comScore ranked it as the stickiest kids entertainment site with the average user spending 2 hours and 45 minutes per month.[36]
Described as an online cross of Pokémon and Tamagotchi,[16][18] Neopets has received both praise and criticism. It has been praised for having educational content. Children can learn HTML to edit their own pages.[37] They can also learn how to handle money by participating in the economy.[38] Reviews from About.com and MMO Hut considered the multitude of possible activities a positive aspect.[39][40] Most of the users are female, higher than in other massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) but equivalent to social-networking-driven communities.[41][42] Lucy Bradshaw, a vice president of Electronic Arts, attributes the popularity among girls to the openness of the site and said, "Games that have a tendency to satisfy on more than one dimension have a tendency to have a broader appeal and attract girls".[43]
Luck & chance games draw criticism from parents as they introduce children to gambling. In Australia, a cross-promotion with McDonald's led to controversy with Neopets' luck/chance games in October 2004. Australian tabloid television show Today Tonight featured a nine-year-old boy who claimed the site requires one to gamble in order to earn enough Neopoints to feed one's Neopet or else it would be sent to the pound.[44] While gambling is not required, nor are pets sent to the pound if unfed, the website includes games of chance based on real games such as blackjack and lottery scratchcards. After this incident, Neopets prohibited users under the age of 13 from playing most games that involve gambling.