Blue Light Impacts Our Sense of Losses and Gains: How Often Do Online Casinos Utilise It?

Recent research suggests that certain wavelengths of blue light may subtly influence how we perceive losses and gains. Although these findings could have implications across many aspects of daily life, the researchers highlighted online casino environments as one setting where these effects may be especially relevant.

Blue has traditionally been associated with producing a calming effect because it conveys a sense of peace, trust and stability, and can even help reduce nervous tension. While that holds, not all shades of blue work the same way. A study by Flinders University and Monash University suggests that certain strong tones of blue light, such as those produced by LED screens, may subtly influence how we perceive losses and wins.

Online gambling has become one of the most common pastimes in modern Britain. According to the Gambling Commission, the online sector generated £7.8 billion in gross gambling yield in the year to March 2025, up by more than £900 million on the previous year, while the industry as a whole reached £16.8 billion. Participation figures point the same way: in the regulator's most recent survey, 37% of respondents said they had gambled online, against 27% who had done so in person. 

As more players look to keep their spending in check, many turn to the £5 deposit casino sites rated by Legalbet, an expert resource that has spent years tracking the British iGaming scene and reviewing operators for exactly this kind of low-stakes play. But even with smaller bankrolls at stake, the screen in front of a player looks much the same everywhere - buttons, animations and backgrounds lit up by the very kind of LED glow the Flinders and Monash researchers studied.

Licensing, game range, payment methods and responsible gambling tools all shape which platform a player picks, but the visual environment is part of that decision too. So where does blue light specifically fit into the picture at UK online casinos?

Can Blue Light Make You Take More Risks?

Your eyes do more than recognise blue. They also contain cells that detect that light range and send signals to areas of the brain involved in fear, emotion and decision-making. When intense blue light enters the eye, for example, these cells become strongly activated. 

According to researchers, this type of lighting can dampen some internal signals and change the way you assess a decision, making you less sensitive at certain moments. Blue light can be captured from the LED screen being used for the gaming session, or specific design elements from buttons to slot animations or live-table backgrounds. 

How Did the Researchers Test It?

They ran a very clever experiment by using two types of blue light with the same brightness, but one contained a high level of blue and the other very little.

• The “high-blue” light produced 191 lux of biological energy (the kind that activates the brain).
  
  

• The “low-blue” light produced only 78 lux, even though it looked just as bright.

The results were striking. Under the high-blue light, people felt less of the “pain” associated with losing money. A loss that would normally feel severe suddenly mattered less, and participants were more willing to take another risk. In simple terms, people needed a smaller potential reward to accept a possible loss when exposed to stronger blue light. 

In women, the parameter that measures how strongly a loss “weighs” on decisions dropped from 1.94 under low-blue light to 1.51 under high-blue light. In practical terms, then, under normal light, they needed a possible gain of £204 to risk losing £100, but with blue light, £151 was enough. Men were less loss averse to begin with: their parameter sat at around 1.02, meaning a potential win of roughly £102 was enough to justify risking £100. 

What Other Effects Can the Colour Blue Have?

So, does this mean that simply seeing everything in blue will magically make us forget our losses and rush to keep spending money? Of course not. The study is recent and comes with clear limitations: the sample was small, the experiment took place in a controlled laboratory rather than a real betting environment, and it does not represent every type of player.

Blue is a common and visually pleasant colour for many people, and it has been the focus of several studies showing a range of interesting effects. Some research suggests that blue light can increase alertness, improve reaction speed, reduce drowsiness and even enhance the accuracy of working memory. 

On the other hand, certain shades are used in relaxation techniques, chromotherapy and even in Ericksonian hypnosis, where patients are asked to imagine a calming blue tone.

The Current Design of Online Casinos: Where Does Blue Fit In?

The visual style of online gambling platforms has changed over time. Most now favour minimalist interfaces with dark backgrounds like black or deep navy, as they create a calm atmosphere. Others opt for white backgrounds combined with red or orange.

Across these platforms, bright blue tends to appear only in small touches: navigation elements, promotional banners or logos, and rarely dominates a layout. This restraint seems to reflect a desire to avoid overwhelming the user while they move through the site, unlike in earlier years when minimalism was less of a priority.

So the use of blue in online casinos is no greater than that of many other colours. But in the games themselves, however, blue is more visible, often for stylistic or thematic reasons. In games produced by external suppliers, blue appears in slots inspired by snow, ice, storms or electrical effects. Slots also commonly feature blue frames and glowing effects, and live dealer rooms sometimes use blue-toned LED panels.

Some digital tables highlight betting areas with neon blue tones, although this depends heavily on the provider and the theme of the game. Not every title uses this approach, and the presence of blue varies with the atmosphere designers want to create. Online casinos, however, rely on very different visual styles and colour palettes, depending on each brand’s identity. 

So, What Can We Take From All This?

If the researchers’ conclusions are accurate, and these shades can soften the feeling of a loss and, in other cases, encourage risk-taking, then players would benefit from paying closer attention to their budgeting and deciding in advance how much they are prepared to spend.