Project Description
Over the past year, Victorians have lost more than $1.5 billion through gaming (pokie) machines alone. Today, gambling extends far beyond traditional casino-style machines or betting at the races. Technology has made betting as easy and addictive as ever.
There are common video game features and products with gambling mechanics that are consumed by a young audience, such as video game loot boxes, Pokémon cards, and gacha. They have surged in popularity, exposing adolescents to gambling during critical developmental years. Research indicates that early exposure to gambling mechanics can increase the risk of long-term gambling problems. Surveys suggest that around three in ten Victorian students aged 12–17 have engaged in gambling.
Measures to reduce problem gambling are outlined in the Gambling Regulations Act 2003 and Gambling Regulations 2015. These regulations address aspects such as lighting standards in gaming venues and restrictions on gambling advertising.
However, these standards do little to counter the tactics used by the gambling industry to keep gamblers gambling. The sensory experiences triggered by gaming machines and other gambling products, such as bright colours, jackpot sounds, and near-miss mechanics, contribute significantly to their addictive nature and are largely unregulated.
Our proposed gaming design addresses this by minimising audio-visual stimuli, offering clearer win and loss probabilities, and providing personalised reality-check messages to players.
Data Story
Publications from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission and the Department of Justice and Community Safety on youth gambling prompted us to examine the causes of underage gambling and potential interventions. Based on both our personal experiences and research conducted by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), we observed that exposure to gambling often begins at a young age, with the bright lights and sounds of gaming machines appealing across age groups, young and old.
Among the limited Victorian government datasets on gambling, losses by Local Government Area (LGA) were particularly insightful. They not only highlighted the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities but also inspired the idea of making gambling products less enticing, similar to the way cigarette packaging uses personal messaging. This is a strategy identified by the VRGF as an effective intervention.
By analysing current legislation and identifying gaps in preventing gambling harms, we developed a prototype demonstrating how gambling products could be redesigned to reduce attractive structural features and better protect consumers.
