The $11 billion social casino economy built on players who can never cash out

Saturday, May 2, 2026 1:11 PM
Photo: Shutterstock
  • Peter Robison and Vernon Silver, Bloomberg News

“please remove this game from my computer ..thank you,” read the email to a customer service representative for High 5 Casino, a mobile game that lets people spend virtual coins on Las Vegas-style slot machines.

“Sorry to hear you’re having a problem. I’m not sure I understand exactly what your issue is,” responded an employee at High 5 Games, the app’s maker. “Could you give us a little more detail on exactly what is happening?”

“thank you for your quick reply,” the customer wrote. “the games are fun to play, but I am having a problem and I need to stop playing so much as it’s a bit of an addiction and buying credits are totally out of control for me.”