ADDICTION, GAME DESIGN, AND
GAMING REVENUE
Kevin Harrigan, PhD
Gambling Research Lab
University of Waterloo
June 7, 2014, San Diego, NCLGS Conference
MY BACKGROUND
• Computer Science (BSc, MSc)
• Teach computer game design
Computer/Internet/iPhone/Android/etc.
• Founding member of uWaterloo Gambling
Research Lab
Focus on slot machine games
Why do the games cause harm for some?
SLOT MACHINES IN ONTARIO
• 23,000 slot machines in Ontario
• Slot machine revenue: $3 billion annually
$130,000 per machine
• Slot machine revenue larger than all other
forms of gambling combined
• Casinos open 24/7
• Only 27 facilities have slots
PROBLEM GAMBLERS IN ONTARIO
• Population of Ontario: 10,000,000
• 1% severe problem gamblers
100,000 individuals
• 3.75% moderate problem gamblers
375,000 individuals
MIDDLE-CLASS
BANKRUPT
HUSBAND AND
WIFE.
M O N T H LY
LOSSES ON SLOT
MACHINES.
L O C AT I O N : O N
T H E I R WAY H O M E
FROM WORK.
HOW ?
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•
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$5/wager
$0.50 loss per wager
$300/hour
20 hours/week $6,000
X4 weeks is $24,000/month
X2 players $48,000/month
AWWW SHUCKS EFFECT (NEAR MISS)
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–
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See two 7’s on the payline
The type below can appear 12 times more
often than by chance alone, on each reel
Accomplished by weighting the blanks
which are adjacent to 7’s
SIZE OF SYMBOLS VS BLANKS
• Blanks are smaller but show up on the
payline more often
UNBALANCED REELS
• One reel is starved of the jackpot symbol
• Aww Shucks effect (Near Miss)
• See the Jacks in non-winning positions
NEAR MISSES - RESEARCH
RESULTS
• Research shows that near misses have an
effect on the player (Clark et al, 2009)
Near Misses enhance motivation to gamble
Near misses activate areas of the brain
associated with wins, even though it was not a
win
Brain activity correlated with self-reported
measures of gambling propensity
LOSSES DISGUISED AS WINS
• Depending on the wager, approximately 60%
of “wins” are really losses
• Wager $3,75 and “win” $2.25
–
–
Really a loss of $1.50
But the slot machine produces winning sounds
and winning graphics
LOSSES DISGUISED AS WINS
• ‘“The perception is that you’re winning all the
time, when you’re really not— you’re putting
25 in and winning 15 back, 45 in and 30
back, over and over.” Randy Adams of
Anchor Gaming (Schull, 2005)
• “Positive reinforcement hides loss.” Nathan
Leland of Silicon Gaming (Schull, 2005).
• One elderly slots player told me “If I keep
winning I’m going to go broke.”
L O S SES D I SG U I S E D A S W I N S:
O U R R E S E A R C H R E S U LT S
( P E R S P I R AT I O N )
0.7
Galvanic Skin Response Amplitude (us)
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Wins
LDWs
Losses
STOP BUTTON
• Stop Buttons
Player can stop the reels before 3-5 seconds
Doesn’t affect the outcome
Provides an “illusion of control”
Giving the player an “illusion of control” gives a
player a sense of control even when the player
fully understands that the outcome is random
(Langer, 1975).
CREDITS VS CURRENCY
• Usually your money is shown as credits
• Ex: A five cent machines pays 150,000
credits
Not easy to convert to currency
MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF THE SAME
GAME
• Payback percentage is
not disclosed to the
player
• In Ontario, same game
can payout between
85% to 98%
• All versions look
identical to the player
INDUCEMENTS FOR MAXIMUM
WAGER
• Various messages on the machine
“Play all 15 lines for maximum excitement”
“Play three credits”
• Some prizes can only be won with maximum
wager
HIGH STAKES ROOMS
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•
•
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Maximum $ 750/spin
Average loss per spin ~ $ 40
A spin every 5 seconds
Average $480 loss per minute
Average $28,800 loss per hour
Average ~ $100,000 for an evening of play (4
hours approx)
CURRENT INITIATIVES
• Educate players
• Consider regulatory changes
• Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) is
interested in the ‘sustainable player’
Aligns well with the mandate of our lab
• OLG is sincerely concerned with players
‘bottoming out’