Maude Bonenfant, PhD

Presentation

Gaming, Gambling, Advertising and Data Collection — How Borders get Blurred in the Absence of Framing

Abstract

The hybridization of gambling and gaming has become so widespread that gambling mechanisms are now found in a variety of gaming platforms, including games for children. Betting is one of many approaches to making games lucrative, however, other strategies and economic models do exist, especially in free games on mobile devices or browsers. Advertising is one of the most recognized methods, but its practice is not limited to banners and “skillfully” concealing the difference between the game and the external context of advertisements. Another form of profitability that remains invisible to players, but far more intrusive, is the collection of personal data to eventually resell to third parties (data brokers) for targeted advertising. This mechanism is becoming increasingly sophisticated and the hybridity between advertising and gaming (or gambling) becomes misleading for users. These practices remain largely unregulated, particularly in children's games, despite the prohibition of gambling for children under 18 and the regulation of targeted television advertising for children. For this conference, I will problematize the lack of regulation surrounding games that exploit various economic models, mechanics of gaming, and other design strategies that promote the consumption of advertising; long connection times, the greatest possible commitment (monetary, emotional and social) for the purpose of maximizing the production and profitability of these so-called “free” games profitable.

Biography

Maude Bonenfant is a professor in the Department of Social and Public Communications at l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She has a doctorate in semiotics and is chairholder of the Canada Research Chair on Gaming Communities and Big Data (2018–2023). Her research focuses on the social dimensions of communication technologies, social networks, big data, artificial intelligence, online communities, as well as gaming practices and video games. She is codirector of the Laboratory for Research on Social Media and Gamification, director of the Homo Ludens Research Group on Games and Communication and member of the Research Group on Everyday Information and Surveillance (GRISQ).