Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Dow Schüllby Natasha Dow Schüll
Shares rank 51 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it as an eye-opening account of how technology and gambling machines are designed to influence behavior.
People recommend it as an eye-opening account of how technology and gambling machines are designed to influence behavior.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Eye-opening on technology influencing behavior
“Both are incredibly eye-opening in their treatment of technology and how it is designed to influence behavior.”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “People Cheering Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What Theyre Cheering For” Covers dark patterns in gambling games
“There’s a good book that discusses dark patterns in Gambling games”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Dark Pattern Games” “there is a book. addiction by design, exactly about this.”
Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “Sports Betting Is Everywhere, Especially on Credit Reports” Argues addiction blame falls on machines
“claims that gambling addiction was a concept pushed by the casinos, to put the blame onto individuals, rather than the machine.”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegasby Natasha Dow SchüllThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“claims that gambling addiction was a concept pushed by the casinos, to put the blame onto individuals, rather than the machine.”
“there is a book. addiction by design, exactly about this.”
“Both are incredibly eye-opening in their treatment of technology and how it is designed to influence behavior.”
“There’s a good book that discusses dark patterns in Gambling games”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.