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Social casino gaming in Indonesia: socio-economic and cultural impacts of Higgs Domino Island
Ismail A.
International Gambling Studies
Q2Abstract
This ethnographic study examines the socio-economic and cultural impacts of social casino gaming, focusing the mobile application Higgs Domino Island (HDI) in Indonesia. Although Marketed as a casual game, HDI functions as a social casino platform whose monetization through third-party chip exchanges effectively serves as a proxy for gambling. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation with nine male informants, the study reveals how gambling becomes a coping strategy amid post-pandemic economic uncertainty. Early wins are framed as acts of empowerment but often lead to escalate into financial losses and emotional distress due to addictive platform designs. Informal economic roles – such as chip sellers – emerge, sustaining a shadow digital economy within community networks. Socially, HDI platform fosters bonding through communal play yet invites stigma from visible consumption. Culturally, players perform identity shifts through symbolic displays like custom clothing and vehicle modification, navigating tensions with religious and legal norms. Health risks, including sleep disruption and emotional dysregulation, accompany repetitive gambling practices. The findings suggest that social casino gaming, when mediated through informal monetization, is best understood as a socialized response to structural vulnerability rather than a purely individual behavior, requiring policy interventions that address economic precarity, digital inequalities, and community-level moral frameworks.