Unfair digital gaming practices and their impact on Australians

Australians of all ages are engaging with gaming to relax, learn or connect with friends, but common design features can leave players worse-off – 95% of Australian adult gamers encounter manipulative design practices in digital games, leading to financial losses and emotional distress.

A collaboration between CPRC and Monash University, this report explores:

how deceptive designs exploit vulnerabilities through tricks, disguised ads, and manipulative tactics
the impact of gambling-like features such as loot boxes and battle passes
how in-game currencies mask real-world costs, and
how some practices target younger players.

The issue is widespread

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95%  of Australian players encountered at least one dark game patterns in the past 12 months.

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58% had encountered more than 10 different types of dark game patterns in the past 12 months.

There are financial, privacy and wellbeing impacts

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46% of players experienced financial detriment from digital gaming

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52% encountered privacy harms

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59% of players experienced negative impacts on their wellbeing

Recommendations

Protect vulnerable players

Establish a duty of care to protect children and consumers experiencing vulnerability through ethical game design and thorough testing of choice architecture.

Standardise disclosures

Implement clear, standardised disclosures for in-game features, purchases, and gambling elements to help players make informed choices.

Make unfair illegal

Make unfair practices illegal through an unfair trading prohibition that protects consumers from businesses that unfairly exploit their customers and empower regulators to swiftly ban or restrict harmful practices that cause direct and clear consumer harms.

Enhance privacy protection

Update privacy laws to require opt-in data collection and impose stricter limits on how gaming companies use player data.

Improve consumer protection

Establish a Digital Ombudsman and clear pathways for dispute resolution to better protect consumer rights in gaming.

Regulate gambling elements

Ban gambling-like designs in games and require clear pricing and probability disclosures for all in-game purchases.

Playing the Player:

Unfair digital gaming practices and their impact on Australians

The issue is widespread

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There are financial, privacy and wellbeing impacts

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