SHAV

Product Designer

Sydney, AU

SHAV

currently @ frog, AU

SHAV

Product Designer

Sydney, AU

SHAV

Product Designer

Sydney, AU

Case Study

BetDojo

Year

Late 2023

Services

UI Design

Type

Product

Service

Project Story

Combatting the depths of dark patterns with experience and service design.

Overview

If this project were part of Nolan’s trilogy, it would be the moment where Batman struggles to climb out of the pit after being thrown in by Bane.

This case study showcases how I explored the challenge of designing for ethics within Australia’s fast-growing online sports gambling space. During a time of heightened regulatory scrutiny and dark patterns, I designed the service and product concept for Bet Dojo, a digital companion aimed at encouraging healthier wagering habits while countering industry dark patterns. Discover how I balanced empathy with usability, applying research, prototyping, and testing to approach this problem space and shape an early service vision for responsible gambling.

Problem Area

Australia’s online sports gambling space is exploding for the wrong reasons. 

Bookmaker platforms have failed to actively encouraging responsible gambling. Instead, their focus has centred on glorifying wins and the thrill of wagering, downplaying the importance of responsible sports gambling. This issue has recently gained increased regulatory scrutiny as the risks associated with compulsive gambling become more apparent with online sports wagering services in the line of fire. 

User research at a glance

My 5 course research approach was the go to

I combined online ethnography, desktop research, semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Mapping findings into an affinity diagram revealed the tensions between user needs and business priorities

Research goal 1

Empathise with online wagering platform users

Research goal 2

Become familiar with the current landscape and legal scrutiny

Research

Discover current resources and responses in place

Insights

Current State Customer Journey

Using the above research methods to learn about gambling responsibly to populate the data in the above affinity diagram, I noticed a significant lack of transparency betting platforms dedicated to raising awareness for healthy gambling habits, which led me to 3 crucial insights:

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

There’s zero transparency of rules and procedures

There’s zero transparency of rules and procedures

There’s zero transparency of rules and procedures

There’s zero transparency of rules and procedures

Interface conceals gambling controls and glorifies winning

Interface conceals gambling controls and glorifies winning

Interface conceals gambling controls and glorifies winning

Interface conceals gambling controls and glorifies winning

To make these issues tangible, I mapped a current state customer journey of Sportsbet, the leading Australian bookmaker app. It revealed how touchpoints systematically pushed users toward higher engagement, while responsible controls sat several steps deep

Design problem statement

The art of ethical interfaces

How might we empower informed decision-making and encourage responsible gambling habits through digital interactions for online sports betting users?

How might we empower informed decision-making and encourage responsible gambling habits through digital interactions for online sports betting users?

How might we empower informed decision-making and encourage responsible gambling habits through digital interactions for online sports betting users?

Ideation

Hypotheses

During ideation, I reframed the challenge with a provocative question: “Why isn’t there a health app for gambling?”


This sparked the concept of a responsible gambling companion app. Instead of leaving users to navigate bookmaker apps that hide protective features, Bet Dojo would:

• Aggregate their personal gambling history across platforms

• Provide resources and stories that normalise responsible play

• Proactively nudge users with deposit limits, exclusion options, and reminders


The design principle was simple: embed healthy behaviours into the core of the interface, rather than bolting them on after

During ideation, I reframed the challenge with a provocative question: “Why isn’t there a health app for gambling?”


This sparked the concept of a responsible gambling companion app. Instead of leaving users to navigate bookmaker apps that hide protective features, Bet Dojo would:

  • Aggregate their personal gambling history across platforms

  • Provide resources and stories that normalise responsible play

  • Proactively nudge users with deposit limits, exclusion options, and reminders


The design principle was simple: embed healthy behaviours into the core of the interface, rather than bolting them on after

UX Strategy

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Harmful gambling behaviours are prevalent, beginning with overwhelming traditional and digital marketing

Concept Testing

To visualise my service concept, I built a user journey map and a service blueprint

Usability testing

Wireframes

The Baseline Concept

We incorporated the original team's design but made tweaks to improve discoverability and usability. This concept was about speed—getting a solution to market quickly. While it offered a rapid path to launch, it didn't deliver the optimal user experience on mobile devices we aimed for.

The Baseline Concept

We incorporated the original team's design but made tweaks to improve discoverability and usability. This concept was about speed—getting a solution to market quickly. While it offered a rapid path to launch, it didn't deliver the optimal user experience on mobile devices we aimed for.

Iteration

Usability testing

My goal was to evaluate the BetDojo prototype by guiding users through tasks and measuring their experience against Jakob Nielsen’s usability heuristics. This helped us systematically uncover potential usability issues.

At the same time, we employed the think-aloud method, prompting users to vocalise their thoughts and actions as they navigated the interface. Together, these approaches allowed us to assess clarity of navigation and the accessibility of responsible gambling features. Our aim was to identify navigation challenges and validate the effectiveness of responsible gambling tools, ensuring the product delivered a user-friendly and ethically designed betting experience.

01 User control and freedom

The design decision was to include persistent back navigation and clearly discoverable exit states. Users can correct mistakes or return to the home screen via a consistent backlink icon positioned adjacent to headings. This predictable escape hatch reduces anxiety and reinforces spatial awareness within the product.

UX impact

  • Lower cognitive load

  • Reduced navigation errors

  • Increased perceived control

02 Recognition Over Recall

Material icons and labelled navigation. Navigation relies on recognisable icons supported by clear positioning. The home icon anchors the experience to a central hub, allowing users to orient themselves instantly without remembering paths.

UX impact

  • Faster navigation

  • Reduced memory burden

  • Improved orientation

03 Error Prevention & Feedback

I added a dynamic password strength indicator because the platform handles sensitive personal data, password validation includes a live strength bar that shifts from red → orange → green. This communicates system expectations before submission, preventing avoidable errors.

UX impact

  • Fewer failed submissions

  • Clear security affordance

  • Immediate behavioural feedback


Outcome

A sportsbet management platform

Homepage

The final prototype of Bet Dojo brought the vision to life. It balanced clean, intuitive navigation with proactive interventions proving that responsible gambling tools can be made as visible and engaging as betting odds themselves. Set deposit limits, utilise self-exclusion options, and receive timely reminders tailored to your activities, promoting mindful play."


Homepage

The final prototype of Bet Dojo brought the vision to life. It balanced clean, intuitive navigation with proactive interventions proving that responsible gambling tools can be made as visible and engaging as betting odds themselves. Set deposit limits, utilise self-exclusion options, and receive timely reminders tailored to your activities, promoting mindful play."


The Baseline Concept

We incorporated the original team's design but made tweaks to improve discoverability and usability. This concept was about speed—getting a solution to market quickly. While it offered a rapid path to launch, it didn't deliver the optimal user experience on mobile devices we aimed for.

The Baseline Concept

We incorporated the original team's design but made tweaks to improve discoverability and usability. This concept was about speed—getting a solution to market quickly. While it offered a rapid path to launch, it didn't deliver the optimal user experience on mobile devices we aimed for.

Betting education

Access a curated collection of resources, tips, stories, and tools designed to enhance your responsible gambling practices.

Betting education

Access a curated collection of resources, tips, stories, and tools designed to enhance your responsible gambling practices.

Betting activity

Gain insights into your gambling habits with personalised activity summaries of data from various bookmaker apps.

Sign up

Users can authenticate through familiar third-party providers (Apple and Google), reducing cognitive load and accelerating onboarding through recognised patterns. For users who prefer manual entry, the form follows industry-standard input structures to ensure predictability and ease of use. A live password strength indicator provides real-time feedback, preventing submission errors before they occur.

Sign up

Users can authenticate through familiar third-party providers (Apple and Google), reducing cognitive load and accelerating onboarding through recognised patterns. For users who prefer manual entry, the form follows industry-standard input structures to ensure predictability and ease of use. A live password strength indicator provides real-time feedback, preventing submission errors before they occur.

Pairing with betting accounts

The linking screen enables users to connect external betting platforms to centralise their activity data within the app. Each bookmaker is presented as a selectable module with clear state indicators (linked, unlinked, unavailable). Distinct visual states communicate connection status at a glance, reducing ambiguity and reinforcing system feedback.

Pairing with betting accounts

The linking screen enables users to connect external betting platforms to centralise their activity data within the app. Each bookmaker is presented as a selectable module with clear state indicators (linked, unlinked, unavailable). Distinct visual states communicate connection status at a glance, reducing ambiguity and reinforcing system feedback.

Learnings and Takeaway

What did I learn?

As it was my second time using Figma for interface design (coming from Adobe Illustrator), I definitely found myself looking towards YouTube for tutorials to master my skills. In the future I would like to gain some one on one feedback of my design process and interface with an expert to see how I may improve my skills.


My biggest challenge in designing this digital platform for online sports gamblers was striking a balance between ethics and user experience. This involved gathering unbiased information and ensuring dark patterns were not used to trick and glorify gambling. Taking a proactive approach by imagining the service allowed me to broaden my assumptions and design with more empathy.


Designing in the betting space surfaced a constant tension: the same tools that drive engagement can also drive harm. As a designer, I had to confront the dilemma of crafting seamless, intuitive experiences without unintentionally reinforcing compulsive behaviour.


Every interaction required scrutiny. Should this flow be faster? Should this feedback be more motivating? Or does optimisation, in this context, amplify the wrong outcome? Features such as consolidated tracking and visible progress, were deliberately framed around awareness rather than stimulation shifting the goal from increased activity to increased clarity.


This project reinforced that ethical product design is not about removing friction everywhere. It is about deciding where friction is responsible. The dilemma lies in balancing usability with accountability ensuring the product empowers users with insight, rather than quietly nudging them toward irresponsible behaviour.

During ideation, I reframed the challenge with a provocative question: “Why isn’t there a health app for gambling?”


This sparked the concept of a responsible gambling companion app. Instead of leaving users to navigate bookmaker apps that hide protective features, Bet Dojo would:

  • Aggregate their personal gambling history across platforms

  • Provide resources and stories that normalise responsible play

  • Proactively nudge users with deposit limits, exclusion options, and reminders


The design principle was simple: embed healthy behaviours into the core of the interface, rather than bolting them on after