Amid growing public health concerns, operators like DraftKings have touted “responsible gaming” tools and prompts. But as I went off the deep end, I found they were no match for the incentives and product design pushing me to keep going.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1426848/i-deliberately-bet-like-a-problem-gambler-draftkings-made-me-a-vip

  • Recklessness Rewarded: I blew $1,800 in one night by chasing my losses with bigger bets, a classic sign of problem gambling. The next day, DraftKings invited me to audition for its VIP program.
  • Casino Craze: Sportsbooks want to expand into online casinos, where you can lose a lot fast. I played 500 rounds of blackjack in a weekend — about half of my total bets over 10 weeks.
  • Profit Over Protection: The responsible gaming prompts telling me to pump the brakes were no match for the product design and promotions pushing me to do more gambling.
  • fonix232@fedia.io
    28·
    18 hours ago

    Having just left an online casino AND sportsbook company… yes, the design is SPECIFICALLY to go around the responsible gambling guidelines and encourage reckless behaviour.

    We had “responsible gambling” as well as spotting problem behaviour training twice a year, yet every time I pushed back on designs that clearly went against those established policies, I was met with hostility, and I became a “problem person” who got in the way of profits.

    Good software engineering practices were ignored and pushed back on, just so we could “deliver faster”. There were times when we had to begin implementing major features without finalised designs, without any kind of product requirements specified, and of course we were discouraged to push back on that. Contact with product people? Fuck no, don’t bother them. Code documentation? Who needs it?

    These companies play fast and loose with people, for profits. And regulations do fuck-all.