Michael Thornton
Investigative Journalist Covering Gambling Psychology and Consumer Behaviour
Michael Thornton is an investigative journalist whose work examines the intersection of gambling, psychology, and consumer decision-making. He specialises in analysing player motivation, cognitive biases, risk perception, and the behavioural design techniques used in modern gaming platforms. His reporting frequently explores how reward systems, near-miss effects, and personalised digital experiences influence engagement and long-term player habits.
With more than a decade of experience covering behavioural science and technology, Thornton is known for translating academic research into practical insights for readers interested in the psychology of gaming, online behaviour, and digital entertainment culture.
Articles by Michael Thornton
What a PGSI Score Can and Cannot Tell You About Gambling Harm
Many Australians first meet the Problem Gambling Severity Index through a short online quiz. There are nine questions about the past year, four possib…
Signs of a Gambling Problem: How to Tell When It's More Than a Hobby
A gambling problem shows itself through a recognizable set of warning signs: gambling more than you can afford, chasing losses to win back money, bein…
How Bank Gambling Blocks Work and Who They Help
One of the most useful tools for anyone trying to step back from gambling is not a helpline or an app but something far more ordinary: a setting insid…
Self-Exclusion in Australia and How It Actually Works
For anyone trying to step back from gambling, willpower alone is often not enough — and it was never meant to be. In the moment, the urge to bet can o…
The Gambling Ads That Quietly Normalised a Public Health Problem
For anyone who watches sport in Australia, the experience has changed in a way that is easy to stop noticing precisely because it is so constant. Bett…
The Psychology of Gambling Why the Brain Keeps Chasing the Next Bet
Gambling rarely feels like a problem while it is becoming one. It feels like fun, then like a habit, then like something a person cannot quite explain…
Why Poker Machines Make Losing Feel Like Winning
There is a comfortable myth that surrounds poker machines: that they are simple games of chance, and that the people who lose too much on them are unl…