TAB
Redesigning Betting Experiences with User Control & Responsible Play
TAB is one of Australia’s most recognized betting brands, operating across pubs, clubs, and digital platforms. As one of the world’s largest publicly listed wagering companies, TAB needed to create a seamless, intuitive betting experience while also ensuring users had access to responsible gambling tools that allowed them to set limits, take breaks, and stay informed.
As Product Designer (UX/UI), I was responsible for:
• Redesigning the entire digital experience, covering iOS, Android, iPad, and web.
• Ensuring consistency across platforms, creating a unified design system.
• Prioritizing responsible betting UX, enabling users to set spend limits, opt-out features, and risk alerts.
• Leading user research & testing, validating every design decision with real customers.
📌 Key Outcomes:
• 📈 Improved App Store rating from 2.5⭐ to 4.5⭐ in six months.
• 💰 Increased digital revenue by 24% over two years.|
• 🎯 Enhanced responsible gaming features, leading to higher voluntary opt-ins for spending limits and break reminders.
Role: Product Designer – UX/UI
Project: TAB Native Apps & Website Design
Year: 2015 – 2017

Understanding the Challenge
When I joined Tabcorp, the company was transitioning from outsourced design teams to an in-house product team. The digital experience needed a complete overhaul to:
✔ Create a seamless cross-platform experience across iOS, Android, and web.
✔ Improve navigation, speed, and usability, making it easier to place bets.
✔ Enhance responsible gambling features, giving users more control over their betting activity.
Our challenge was to balance business goals with ethical design, ensuring that while the experience was smooth and engaging, it also promoted responsible play with spend warnings, opt-out options, and cooling-off periods.
User Research & Responsible Betting Features
Understanding betting behaviors and responsible play mechanics was key to designing an ethical and engaging experience. We used both qualitative and quantitative research to ensure the new platform met user needs.
Research & Workshops
•User Interviews & Surveys → Gathered insights from regular and casual bettors.
•Remote Usability Testing → Tested navigation, bet placement, and responsible gaming flows.
•Competitor Analysis → Benchmarked global betting platforms to identify UX gaps.
•Stakeholder Workshops → Aligned with product, compliance, and marketing teams to ensure regulatory adherence.

The Double Diamond of Design, showing the TAB design process.
Ethical UX: Designing for Responsible Betting
As we redesigned the platform, we integrated clear and accessible responsible gambling tools to help users make informed decisions.
🔹 Key Features Implemented:
✔ Customizable spend limits – Allowed users to set daily, weekly, or monthly betting caps.
✔ Self-exclusion options – Enabled users to take breaks or restrict access for set periods.
✔ Risk notifications & alerts – Warned users if spending patterns changed significantly.
✔ Simplified account controls – Made it easier to track bets, manage funds, and opt-out if needed.
These features empowered users while also aligning with regulatory guidelines and responsible betting initiatives.

A few slides from a research recommendation deck.

Workshop design and insights synthesis.
From Wireframes to High-Fidelity UI
With research-backed insights, we transitioned into wireframing, prototyping, and UI design.
Sketching & Wireframes
•Low-fidelity sketches → Rapid iterations for quick validation.
•Clickable prototypes in InVision → Tested core user journeys before high-fidelity design.
•User flow mapping → Ensured seamless navigation between betting markets, account settings, and responsible play features.
Final UI & Design System
•Built a scalable design system for consistency across iOS, Android, and web.
•Standardized color schemes, typography, and iconography for a modern, accessible UI.
•Followed Material Design & iOS guidelines to optimize the native app experience.
The result? A cleaner, faster, and more intuitive experience that improved usability while prioritizing user control over spending and betting habits.

Wireflows showing a parlay bet type and the explanation.

iOS app map for navigation items.
User Testing & Continuous Improvement
We ran weekly user testing to validate and refine designs before launch.
🚀 How We Tested & Optimized:
•Clickable prototypes → Users tested navigation, responsible play settings, and bet placement flows.
•Preference testing → Compared different UI layouts for bet slips and account management.
•A/B Testing → Experimented with messaging around spend limits & opt-out options to encourage adoption.
•Heatmaps & analytics → Tracked user behavior post-launch to refine high-traffic sections.
These iterations ensured that the final product was engaging, easy to use, and encouraged responsible betting behaviors.


A scan ticket user flow mapped to a persona scenario.

iOS race gateway flows with marked touchpoints.

Android race gateway flows with marked touchpoints.




Final Implementation & Business Impact
🚀 Launch & Collaboration with Developers
• Worked closely with engineering teams to ensure a pixel-perfect implementation.
• Defined micro-interactions & animations to enhance usability.
• Maintained a continuous feedback loop post-launch to refine the experience.
📊 Results & Business Impact:
✔ App Store rating increased from 2.5⭐ to 4.5⭐ in just six months.
✔ Digital revenue increased by 24% over two years.
✔ Higher adoption of responsible gaming tools, reducing high-risk betting behavior.
✔ Customer engagement & retention reached an all-time high.
This redesign successfully balanced business goals with responsible betting initiatives, providing a frictionless user experience while encouraging safer gambling habits.
Reflections & Learnings
Leading the TAB digital redesign reinforced the importance of:
✨ Designing for both engagement & ethics – The best experiences empower users, not exploit them.
✨ User testing & iteration – Rapid feedback loops led to better decisions.
✨ Cross-team collaboration – Alignment with product, compliance, and engineering was key to success.
This case study highlights how thoughtful UX design can drive business growth while ensuring user well-being in high-stakes industries.
© Julio Castellano