Social casino games are offered via social media platforms and mobile apps and resemble gambling activities.
Over the last few years playing social casino games has become a popular entertainment activity. Following a description of the pokie lounge, I will explore what cultural articulations of resistance to this site tell us about broader social and cultural dynamics of neoliberal governmentality in Australia. I will use the lyrics of 'Blow up the Pokies' to frame the central themes addressed in this article: the spaces, technologies and governmentality of gambling.
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Freedman was invited to write the foreword of a 'self-help manual for giving up gambling' and appeared on public affairs television shows to discuss the issue of problem gambling. The investment paid off and the song not only became a big hit for the band, it developed a legacy beyond the popular music scene. Written about a former band member's fatal attraction to electronic gaming machines (henceforth referred to as 'pokies'), the song was mixed by a top Los Angeles producer, a decision which its writer, Whitlam's frontman Tim Freedman, describes as calculated to 'get it on big, bombastic commercial radio'. In 1999 The Whitlams, a popular 'Indie' band named after a former Australian prime minister whose government was controversially sacked in 1972 by the Governor General, released a single titled 'Blow up the Pokies'. Further empirical research should investigate this possibility in more detail. Interestingly, social casino games were commonly perceived as a safe activity that may act as a substitution for gambling. Some problem gamblers did report, however, that these games could sometimes trigger a desire to engage in gambling. However, involvement in social casino games did not appear to affect the likelihood of gambling or the risk of problem gambling. Respondents reported frequent exposure to promotions for social casino games and that being connected to a social network of players was a significant factor in determining their engagement in these activities. Ten adult users of social casino games were asked to describe: (1) their history of experiences with these activities, (2) their exposure to promotions relating to social casino games, and, (3) the perceived influence of these activities on their gambling behaviour. Social casino games are typically promoted via social media sites (e.g., Facebook) and involve structurally realistic simulated forms of gambling (e.g., poker, slot machines). This paper describes findings from an in-depth qualitative study which aimed to explore the interrelationships between social casino games, gambling, and problem gambling. The expansion of simulated ‘free-to-play’ gambling-themed activities on social media sites such as Facebook is a topic of growing research interest, with some conjecture that these activities may enable, or otherwise be associated with, gambling and problem gambling.
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