“Winning” by design: Deceptive UX patterns and sports betting apps
Daily fantasy sports app are legal in U.S. states that outlaw gambling, but apply UX practices that coax users into playing more at their own expense.
Do you know anyone who may be a little too into online sports betting? You probably have a friend or two who fall into this category. They get the group chat involved in which player they should bet on, they rave about their wins, and they convince friends to also gamble in “this cool app” (and maybe use their referral code as an incentive).
Their involvement in sports betting may seem obsessive and self-destructive, but it’s not entirely their fault. The creators of these sports betting apps (like PrizePicks and DraftKings) intentionally use the compulsiveness of gambling to their advantage, as well as mislead their users with deceptive UX patterns.
To see how dangerous these apps are, let’s discuss why gambling is so addictive, how it’s legal in illegal states, then review the deceptive UX patterns specifically applied in sports gambling apps like PrizePicks.
Gambling and addiction
Gambling is terribly addictive. According to Liz Burton-Hughes in “Why is Gambling Addictive?”, gambling triggers the brain’s reward system — releasing dopamine (the “feel-good” hormone) when someone wins AND loses. Say you win a game; dopamine is released to leave you feeling euphoric for a period of time. Or you lose a game, dopamine is still released because the brain is chasing the euphoria it had before.
And because gambling’s results are unpredictable, it makes it more addictive. There’s an adrenaline rush as you make your bets and wait for the outcome. This feeling may help someone escape various levels of stress or depression, or they may just be in it for the monetary gains. Either way, anyone can easily get sucked into the “gambling game,” but some might not be able to simply stop or restart after extreme losses.
And since gambling has only gotten more accessible with mass digitization, it’s exacerbated people’s need to gamble. Sally M. Gainsbury’s “Online Gambling Addiction” describes the relationship between gambling availability and increased gambling problems. So with no need to physically go to a casino or set up a poker night with friends, you can just open the right app on your phone while sitting on the couch. This effortlessness of gambling causes people to engage with it more, but maybe too frequently.
Not only is gambling addictive, it’s also illegal in some U.S. states. I live in 1 of 12 states where sports betting is illegal (Georgia). But through the law’s loopholes, some sports betting apps have found a way to be “legal” so citizens of these affected states can still bet on sports.
I don’t know; maybe that’s a sketchy red flag in itself? Let’s talk about that a little more.
How is this legal in illegal states?
When I learned that friends were making online sports bets, the first question I thought was, “Gambling is illegal in Georgia, so how the h*ll is this legal?”
Again, apps like PrizePicks have found loopholes in the state laws prohibiting gambling. This is mainly driven by how the apps frame themselves. Instead of framing the app as “sports betting”, they frame it as “daily fantasy.” But some apps have both frameworks, like FanDuel, by splitting the app into 2 sections. So users based in illegal states can’t access the “sports betting” section of the app — only the “daily fantasy” section.
Aaron Gray in “Why Daily Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting Are Legally Distinct” distinguishes these two frameworks between skill-based versus chance. But what exactly can or can’t you do in each framework?
- In sports betting apps, a user can bet on any sort of outcome they think has the best shot of winning, like betting the Atlanta Falcons will beat the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. But they can also bet on propositions, point-spreads, and more.
- In daily fantasy apps , a user can create a very short-term “fantasy season,” where they participate in 2 or more bets within one game (or match) for a specific player. Then, they choose statistics for that player, and bet if the player will be over or under the named statistic.
Some differences between sports betting and daily fantasy are the time-period and what exactly you can bet on. But the reason why daily fantasy is legal is because it’s based on “skill” instead of pure luck. Meaning if you do your homework in knowing the sport’s players and create a solid strategy, you will win in daily fantasy.
Anywho, if gambling is illegal because of moral concerns, this just seems like a way to make someone feel better about gambling. Sports betting = Bad person. Daily fantasy = Good person.
Deceptive UX patterns in PrizePicks and FanDuel
Now that we’ve discussed the sketchiness of these apps, let’s get into some of the deceptive UX patterns found in sports gambling like PrizePicks.
Mandatory parlay and legs
In order to create a “daily fantasy” bet in PrizePicks (for users in states where sports betting is illegal), you must create a parlay. A parlay is a collection of bets made up of at least 2 legs (or individual bets). In order for a parlay to win, all of its legs must win. This alone means that you already have to create a riskier bet to make a profit.
Well since you have to create a parlay, you at least get to choose the legs right? Well, not exactly. When you select a leg such as, “Patrick Mahomes will throw 300 passing yards in the Chiefs vs. Eagles game on Sunday,” you can only select if it will be “over” or “under” (“more” or “less”). You don’t get to select the specific value of the bet. You’re at the mercy of the app.
Not only that, you can’t even see the payout (or “odds”) of the bet until you’re ready to submit the parlay. Meaning that when you’re selecting legs to create your parlay, you have no idea of the monetary value of each leg. Not only does this hide how risky or safe the bet is, it’s just bad user experience.
Promo codes
Are you using a promo code to get a “free gift” of $300 to use in PrizePicks? Did you know there’s a catch to it? (Because there most definitely is a catch.) Say you uploaded $100 to PrizePicks in addition to the $300 they gave you, so now you have $400 to spend. Then, you spent $100 on a parlay, and made a profit of $50.
Now, you want to take the $150 out of PrizePicks, but can’t. Why? Because the app recognized that $100 spent as a third of the $300 they gave you — not the $100 you uploaded. So, you have to spend all $400 in order to take any profit you made out of the app. This is mentioned in PrizePicks’ “Withdrawing funds FAQ”.
Pretty deceptive, right? This creates more risk since you have to make more bets, which may cause you to lose more. And once you have spent the $400, you may have a loss versus a profit. So you upload more money and create more bets to win your money back — creating a vicious cycle.
This is an obvious attempt to create repeat users. But this isn’t just about creating a loyal customer base, it’s encouraging an experience that’s proven to be dangerously addictive. So it’s not simply creating a loyal user, but an addict.
They use your data against you
Speaking of promo codes, companies like Flutter (owner of FanDuel) keep track of their user behaviors, as discovered by Matt Zarb-Cousin in CBS News 60 Minutes. Zarb-Cousin used public information laws to access what data Flutter captures about their users. Flutter captures data such as when you bet and what offers you use, so they can customize incentives and push notifications to you at the right time.
But with this kind of data, they also know who the addicts are. They know who’s losing big-time, but can’t stop. Yet apps continue to send these push notifications of promos to the wrong users to continue to lure them into the app to invest more money, even when they don’t have any left.
Don’t get freaked out, but these apps KNOW you. They know what it takes to get you playing, even when you shouldn’t. They know the sports you like to bet on, the times of day/ week/ month you make bets, and the deals that got you to play in the first place. If only users could think, “Wow, I’ve been got.”, when receiving these notifications.
Misleading language and overstating your wins
Lastly, PrizePicks demonstrates throughout its UI how it manipulates its users through its misleading language and how it overstates your wins (or your odds to win).
For example, PrizePicks represents safe and risky bets through “goblins and demons”. Goblins are presented with a green color to mean good, and demons are presented with a red color to mean bad. So green goblins tell the user of safe, low-gain bets, while red demons tell the user of risky, high-gain bets. But technically, even the green goblin bets can go haywire and cause the user to lose, but they’re still applied to encourage the user to make a so-called safe bet.
Other than the visual representations, your PrizePicks’ profile shows how much you’ve earned while using the app, but not your gross profit (and it doesn’t specify this). Yes, it’s cool if you won over $400 while playing on the app, but not if you’ve lost $600. So while you’re being shown you’ve won $400, you’re at a gross profit of -$200. This misleads the user in thinking they’re winning, when they’re not.
Also, there’s just some bad copy in the user experience. For example, the dialog that appears when you’re canceling a deposit to the PrizePicks app is straight-up confusing. It says, “Are you sure you want to cancel your deposit?”, when the button choices of “Cancel” and “Ok”. You’d think it’s “Cancel,” right? Nope. It’s the “Ok” option. This is intentionally confusing because they don’t want you to easily be able to cancel — they want you to give them more money.
Do you trust yourself to use sports gambling apps?
If anything, these apps do include a “responsible gaming” section in their app. But according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, they do it because they kinda have to. For instance, these apps must contain age verification, identity checks, and self-exclusion initiatives to protect users from fraud and addiction. Policies require these specific details, but services like Google Play will not show your app if you do not include information about responsible gambling.
The self-exclusion initiatives are beneficial to users, but it requires the user to voluntarily sign up for them. These initiatives include limiting how much you can spend daily/weekly/monthly as well as “timing out” from being able to submit bets. Again, this can help a user struggling to quit placing bets when they no longer have means to do so, but it demands they (or a loved one) recognize their problem.
Do you already use any sports gambling apps? Or would you try any after reading this article? I don’t think I would. Not because I think sports gambling is immoral or that I couldn’t use some extra money, but because I know how these apps are taking advantage of how addictive gambling is. C’mon, there is even a Gamblers Anonymous organization, so you know it’s pretty bad.
If you do use a sports gambling app, comment about your experiences and if you’ve encountered any deceptive UX patterns(or feel free to challenge any of my claims).
