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New scoring system that ranks games based on their representation of race, gender and disabilities reveals there’s still a long way to go to accurately represent the diverse communities playing them
Reading Time: 4 minutes
A new study by Currys PC World investigating diversity in the gaming industry has found that, while the representation of race, gender and disabilities has improved in games since the nineties, there is still a distinct bias in favour of the young, white, straight male.
Using a bespoke scoring system (please see methodology for breakdown), they analysed games that have made a mark at E3 and The Game Awards over the last 20 years. Games were awarded points for: female characters in prominent positions; for exploring LGBTQ+ plot points or themes; for mixed race characters prominently placed in the story; and for disabled characters or references. Their key findings are below:
Ethnic minorities are still underrepresented in games, but things are (slowly) improving
Despite efforts being made in recent years to improve the ethnic diversity of characters in games, an analysis of all games nominated for a Game Award from 2003 to 2018 unearthed that black and ethnic minorities are still severely underrepresented.
While RPGs (role-playing games) sometimes offer a choice of playable characters, their default characters are often white. When other ethnicities are represented, it’s also common for them to be type-cast.
“The diversity that is applied to white characters is something that is often missing when other races are depicted in games.” Adam Campbell, co-founder of POC in Play. “Representation still feels incomplete and inconsistent. We’re still also hard pushed to find those protagonists that are not the stereotypical Indiana Jones or the tough, bald, male type, so ‘diversity’ is the exception rather than the rule.”
· Proper ethnic diversity is still lacking. Only 3% of Game Award nominees (2003-2018) have featured a person of colour as a default protagonist.
· Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and The Walking Dead are the only games where a playable person of colour is baked into the story from start to finish.
· Fallout 4 doesn’t feature a specific character on the cover, but the player creator screen serves a generic white male/female face as the first thing you see.
· Canada is by far the best at getting representation right. Edmonton’s Bioware has put an emphasis on freedom of choice of character, and Ubisoft Montreal consistently tells diverse stories (e.g. Assassin’s Creed).
Representation of women in games is on the rise, yet the characters are often hyper-sexualised
With as many as 42% of gamers in the UK being female (and that number rising to 52% in France[1]) it only makes sense that women are represented equally in games. This doesn’t appear to be the case, however. While the last decade has seen a 189% increase in games featuring playable female characters, fewer than a third of game covers feature a woman in a prominent position. When women are featured, they’re often sexualised. For example, the cover of San Andreas sports a blonde-haired woman in a come-hither pose.
“Female characters have historically been hyper-sexualised for the male gaze in gaming,” says Jay-Ann Lopez, founder of Black Girl Gamers. “You can observe this with the various representations of Lara Croft. I do not believe there is an inherent problem with women being viewed as sexy. However, when it is the only version of women shown, it strips us of our depth and limits us to serving as purely visual objects. Still, there are more and more holistic and nuanced female characters appearing within games.”
· Game covers continue to put men first. Only 11% of covers have women as the focal point, or with a share of the focus.
· From 2012 onwards, diversity has markedly improved. The Walking Dead release that year starred a black man (Lee) and a young mixed-race girl (Clementine) and was a critical and commercial hit.
The notion that people with disabilities need to be “fixed” is rife in the gaming industry
On the rare occasions that disabilities are represented in games, they are more likely to be physical ailments than mental. Mental health has only been tackled in the last few years as awareness rises. Plus, characters with a physical disability are often “fixed”.
Accessibility expert Ian Hamilton says: “This notion that people with disabilities are broken and need to be fixed – a concept known as the medical model of disability – was rejected and abandoned in the 1970s, yet still persists in media and in games, often through the trope of medical conditions being replaced by superhuman powers or superhuman prosthetics. Moreover, games are often guilty of furthering the myth that a disability is rare, with all the impact that has on broader prejudice and discrimination.”
· Deadly Premonition shows protagonist Francis York Morgan talking to an imaginary character, Zach. What starts off as a curious subplot turns into a fascinating exploration of mental health.
· The Joker, ace pilot of Mass Effect’s SS Normandy, suffers from Vrolik syndrome (brittleness of the bones), while Lester, the sardonic sidekick in Grand Theft Auto V, has an unnamed wasting disease. Yet both men are fiercely independent in spite of the challenges they face and are not defined by their disabilities.
LGBTQ+ themes are being explored more in gaming narratives
LGBTQ+ themes are rarely explored in games, and that’s especially true of the biggest titles.
This being said, things are improving. Some of the biggest games to tackle homosexuality with grace in the last 20 years include:
· Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018) and The Sims (2000) with both allowing you to enter a relationship with anyone you please
· The Last of Us (2013) boasting an expansion pack that portrays Ellie in a relationship with another girl,
· Fallout 3 that features a romanceable gay character, and
· Life is Strange (2015) that explores a number of well-written gay characters.
“Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator lets players be either a cis or trans man and captures a reality of the gay community I haven’t seen before in a game. Not every game can be Dream Daddy – and not every game has to be.” Alayna M. Cole, MD of Queerly Represent Me.
· Only 11% of GOTY nominees and E3 winners offer up significant LGBTQ+ storylines.
· From 2009-2018, there’s been a 300% rise in games featuring proper representation when compared to the preceding ten years (1999-2008).
Ultimately, things are getting better. Since 2012, nearly half of all games have featured diverse casts, LGBTQ+ themes or characters of colour – as opposed to 26% pre- 2012. Plus, The Last of Us II, one of the biggest PS4 games coming out in the next year, is set to feature a female LGBTQ+ lead. With time, here’s hoping that the enduring (and inaccurate) stereotype – that only young, white men play games – will fizzle out.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: New scoring system that ranks games based on their representation of race, gender and disabilities reveals there’s still a long way to go to accurately represent the diverse communities playing them
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BetBlocker Launches the Scheduler – Reimagining Blocking Software as a Harm Prevention Tool
Reading Time: 2 minutes
As part of Safer Gambling Week, harm prevention charity BetBlocker today announces the launch of its revolutionary Scheduler tool.
BetBlocker, which provides blocking software to help people manage or restrict their access to online gambling services, is unique in adopting a charitable model for this type of support, and facilitating users accessing protection both free of charge and anonymously.
Traditionally, blocking software has been a crisis management tool, facilitating users restricting their access to gambling services once they’ve already experienced an unsustainable loss.
The Scheduler tool looks to engage users earlier in their journey, before a crisis has occurred, creating the option for players to plan ahead and build a bespoke block to protect them when they need protected.
The new feature supports users to manage their access to gambling is a way that promotes healthier and safer engagement, allowing them to build out a weekly profile, or customise blocks on individual days.
Want to make sure your bills are paid? Block the week after pay day.
Get carried away with In Play betting? Set your block to switch on during match time.
Staying up too late playing on work nights? Set yourself a curfew.
This feature is placed perfectly to support users after GambleAware’s findings last week, that over 5 million people in the UK want to reduce their gambling. BetBlocker’s Scheduling feature is targeted at supporting exactly that need.
BetBlocker’s Founder and Managing Trustee, Duncan Garvie expressed his enthusiasm for the project:
“To date, blocking software has really only looked to offer support after things have gone too far. It’s critical to provide that support for the people who need it, but it would be far better for everyone if we could reach people earlier and prevent the crisis occurring in the first place.
BetBlocker is proud to innovate and be unique amongst blocking softwares in offering harm minimisation functionality alongside our traditional crisis management support.
Our Scheduling tool looks to meet users where they are, redefining blocking software so that it is no longer a binary choice between blocked or not blocked. In taking this step forwards, we’re hoping to engage an entirely new audience, and reach users who are not yet ready to embrace complete abstinence. There is potential to see a huge reduction in gambling harm across society if we can intervene earlier and support people to embrace lower risk behaviours.”
The post BetBlocker Launches the Scheduler – Reimagining Blocking Software as a Harm Prevention Tool appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), on the land-based casino sector, investment, and economic growth
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This summer the DCMS brought forward into legislation a much needed modernisation and deregulation package. The reforms comprising more proportionate gaming machine allocations and the ability to offer sports betting promised to support the UK land-based casino sector, enabling (£) tens of millions of investment, and contributing to the Government’s growth agenda.
When introducing the measures in the House of Commons in June, DCMS Minister, Stephanie Peacock MP, set the scene:
“The Government is focussed on economic growth…this package of measures will unlock additional investment up and down the country” and “will put the casino sector back on a stable footing” “We expect a number of venues to be modernised and refreshed…we also
anticipate this capital investment will be spent across the country not just in London…allowing this historic sector to thrive.”
And when introducing the same measures in the Lords, the Gambling Minister, Baroness Twycross said:
“Since being appointed, I have visited casinos and witnessed the contributions that they bring with jobs, tax revenues and support for the night-time economy. The sector generates £866 million in gross gambling yield each year, with up to 50% of this paid in gaming duty.”
The Minister went on to add that the modernisation measures are estimated to increase GGY by £53million to £58million.
The BGC casino group couldn’t agree more with Ministers.
This is why we are deeply concerned that all of this progress could be wiped out, at a stroke, if there is an increase in MGD, from the current rate of 20%, in the forthcoming Budget. An increase in MGD would fundamentally undermine the sustainable footing which the new policy reforms placed the sector firmly upon.
For example, Rank Group plc (Grosvenor Casinos), the UK’s largest licensed operator of casinos, has reported that 12 of its 50 venues were loss-making in the 12 months to June 2025. These casinos have been kept in operation in the expectation that their financial performance will be improved by this summer’s legislative modernisation.
By illustration, an increase in MGD from 20% to 25% would make a third of the Grosvenor casino estate unprofitable. As well as offsetting all of the benefit Grosvenor expected to gain from the land-based policy reforms, it would not be possible to sustain loss making venues, with up to 20 casinos being forced to close. For the remaining casinos, the planned investment case, announced at £60million per annum for the next two years, would become unaffordable.
Investment committed in light of the new policy reforms
With the new policy reforms industry embarked on a programme of substantial capital
investment to upgrade existing casinos and develop new venues. Great news for the sector,
our customers, and the Government’s growth agenda.
The promised stability enabled confidence for operators to make commitments for UK-wide
investments. Operators have collectively announced or confirmed investment of £300
million, including:
- Rank Group plc investment of £60million per annum for next two years, to capitalise
on casino reforms - Genting Casino £40million new casino at the Trocadero in London’s West End
- Genting Casino Westcliff £10million refurbishment in Southend-on-Sea
- Rank’s Grosvenor Victoria Casino £15million refurbishment and expansion in London
- Bally’s £3.7million, securing 170 jobs, first UK land-based investment in Newcastle
- Hippodrome £1.5million new Sports Book venue in London’s West End
- Other multi-million pound redevelopments of casinos in Brighton, Bolton, Coventry,
Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, and Reading.
An increase in MGD will inevitably lead to a reversal of these steps forward, plus casino closures and job losses. Operators will be forced to cancel investment plans and look to cut jobs as growth plans falter. The investment plans above would not see sufficient returns (and
may even lead to losses) with a direct and material negative impact on company financial performance across the sector. Current investment plans will cease, and future investment won’t happen. Overseas investors will be deterred, seeing the UK market as high risk for investment. And tax yield from the sector would reduce.
At 25% MGD, casino industry analysis shows that up to 40 casinos would close, with the loss of up to 3,500 jobs – equating to a third of the whole industry.
BGC casino group Budget submission
In our Budget submission (full copy attached) we set out for the Treasury the economic contribution of Britain’s land-based casinos and the significant challenges already facing them, which would only be exacerbated by further tax pressures.
More broadly, the sector is still recovering from the damage caused by the lockdown measures of 2020 to 2021. In the year to March 2024 (the most recent period for which data is available), customer spending (gross gaming yield) in Britain’s casinos was 22% lower than in the year to March 2019 – a 43% reduction in real terms.
At the same time, casino operators are experiencing significant cost pressures. The sector employs around 11,000 skilled (and often personally licensed) people and so is particularly sensitive to wage inflation and this year’s rise in employer National Insurance Contributions (which together will impact the sector by between £25m and £30m a year). Additionally, with the Treasury’s convention of duty revalorisation in abeyance since 2022, operators continue to suffer real-terms increases in gaming duties.
In conclusion, I am at pains to stress, that any proposed increase in MGD in the Chancellor’s budget, would lead to the closure of a large number of casinos and the loss of thousands of skilled jobs, as well as risking planned UK-wide investment in the sector.
The post Impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), on the land-based casino sector, investment, and economic growth appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Have you ever seen a banana and an ostrich fused together to form the ultimate creature? In Nolimit City’s latest release, Bizarre, peek into the window of Dr. Bizarre’s wild experiments. This slot falls under the eccentric category of Nolimit City slots such as Munchies, Outsourced and Ugliest Catch.
Reel Area
The farm has been… busy. Bizarre plays out on a 4-4-4-4-4 layout across 5 reels, with a number of variations of xSplit® that can land as either a single symbol or as a 4-row-high symbol, which may appear partially or fully visible. When it lands it splits all symbols on the same row, doubles its size and acts as a Wild symbol after doing so.
Chimera Spins
Dr. Bizarre’s breakthrough experiments begin here. Landing 3 Scatter Symbols will trigger 3 Chimera Spins where a scatter on the middle of the reel will transform into a Wild that remains sticky throughout the feature.
Before the bonus round begins, the middle reels spin individually. During this spin Wild symbols, extra spin symbols or empty symbols can land. When Wild or extra spin symbols land then it stays on its position and a respin is awarded. This continues until new extra spin or Wild symbols land.
If Wild symbols land then it will remain sticky throughout the feature. If a Wild is split by an xSplit® symbol then it gets a multiplier that also remains sticky for the entire feature.
Super Chimera Spins
Funding groundbreaking monstrosities isn’t cheap. Landing 2 Scatter Symbols and a Super Scatter in the base game will trigger 3 Super Chimera. In addition to Chimera Spins features, all Scatter Symbols will transform into Wild symbols and will remain sticky throughout the Super Chimera Spins.
Coinage
To take his experiments to the next level Dr. Bizarre needs to collect some coins. In Coinage, only coins with the multiplier values and special symbols can land. If any positions are empty after a spin then a respin is awarded. When the feature ends, the sum of all the multiplier values are added before multiplying the base bet. The coin values are: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000.
Special symbols can land during Coinage:
- Collector – Collects the total value of all visible coins and removes them. The used Collector remains on the reel and if another Collector lands it will also collect the value of the previous Collector.
- xSplit® – Splits all coins and Collectors on its row and doubles their values.
- Scatters – When 3 Scatters are collected, it triggers Chimera Spins after the Coinage feature ends. If one of the 3 Scatters is a Super Scatter, it will trigger Super Chimera Spins.
Extra Spin
Extra Spin is back! When Chimera Spins or Super Chimera Spins are triggered, players might get the opportunity to purchase an additional spin at the end of the round. The additional spin will keep the Wild symbol along with its multiplier value of the previous spin. The cost of the spin will be calculated based on the Wild symbol multipliers. If the cost of the Extra Spin is less than or equal to the total win, then the Extra Spin opportunity will be presented.
Nolimit Boosters
The final phase of Dr. Bizarre’s experiments are quite the sight to behold, especially with these Nolimit Boosters:
- xBoost – guaranteed a Scatter symbol on the second reel. The guaranteed Scatter might be a Super Scatter. (3 times more likely to hit Chimera/ Super Chimera Spins).
- Bonus Hunt – 49 times more likely to activate Chimera Spins/Super Chimera Spins. During this mode, only Scatters or empty symbols can land with a maximum of 1 Super Scatter.
The monsters are now Dr. Bizarre’s rise to fame. Bizarre has a maximum payout of 20,000x the base bet. Bizarre is rated as “Extremely Volatile” delivering the thrilling high-stakes gameplay that Nolimit City fans know and love.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Mixing animals with fruits is something we like to talk about on a daily basis at Nolimit City. Dr. Bizarre is a crazy mofo with ambitions of fame and power. Chimera Spins and Coinage are features we’ve developed specifically for this game and hope that players will enjoy these freaky experiments”
‘Bizarre’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 18th, 2025.
The post Nolimit City breaks into the lab of a mad scientist in its latest release, Bizarre appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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