Gambling in general is a scourge on society. Legalizing online gambling, enabling mass gambling advertising on the internet/TV/radio/etc in many countries has only exasperated what I'd consider an already desperate position for the most vulnerable.
Im not against gambling per say, but the dark patters and exploitation of human psychology are what irk me. I had some friends whose lives went down the drain due to gambling.
What you need is good regulation, which is pretty much what we have in the UK.
But I think that’s the difference between seeing gambling as an activity and an addiction.
Given how much my country invests in mental health clinics, I think that's what many people up top think, yes.
* Standardize the UI. No animations. No cartoon characters. No flashing, sounds. It should look more boring than Craigslist. No A/B testing. No hiring psychologists to "optimize" the UI.
* No "retention team". No freebies, kickbacks, offers, comps.
* Implement a voluntary ban list, and enforce it strongly. Someone that decides to ban themselves from gambling for life should be unable to bet even a penny.
* Setup a "qualified gambler" program, similar to "qualified investors". You can bet $1,000 per year, or 20% of your YoY growth in net worth, or 1% of total net worth, whichever is greatest.
I love the idea of gambling having all the appeal of options trading, that is to say, something that looks and sounds kinda complicated and confusing to the uninitiated.
Do what they do with tobacco and alcohol in most of the world. Sin tax and education are possibilities, but also limit advertising, enforce age limits (annoying age checks are also a deterrent for adults), have people go to a designated physical location (what the article suggests), mandate the display of anti-gambling messages, forbid 24/7 service, etc...
Physical casinos are typically heavily regulated, and often limited to select areas (ex: Vegas), why not online sports gambling?
These aren’t hypotheticals. The article demonstrates that they are real, measurable effects of gambling.
But no one cares that we begin the stupid-person-to-gambler pipeline right at those moments. No one calls to ban Chuck E. Cheese. In fact, it’s the opposite. We embraced those companies with horror games like five night at Freddie’s - horror games whose characters were rapidly used for internet degeneracy similarly to the overwatch characters.