If you walk through any major shopping mall in Australia, chances are you’ll encounter products and experiences that are uncomfortably similar to gambling- yet they are available to anyone, including children.
Our soon-to-be-published research has found claw machines, blind boxes and toy capsule machines have become pervasive in the spaces families frequent- from the shops, to the movies, to the pub.
We call these products and experiences gamble-play media. They rely on and profit from risk-taking, and encourage intense, continuous playful consumption in the quest to “win” a desired item.
While claw machines have been a part of Australia’s consumer culture for a long time, blind boxes are the most recent gamble-play media to become mainstream.
In Singapore, lawmakers and consumer advocates are pushing to regulate blind boxes due to the gambling inducement risks they carry, according to a written address to parliament from Home Affairs Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam.
It may be time for Australia to contemplate a similar move, given our nation’s insidious gambling culture and tendency towards problem gambling.
Indeed, gambling among children has become a national crisis, with a report from the Australia Institute highlighting 30 per cent of 12-17 year-olds gamble at least once per year.