The Role of Free Spins in Slot-machine Gambling

<p>Slot-machine gambling is disproportionately associated with problem gambling. It is therefore important to develop an understanding of how the programming and features of slot machines influence gambling. The current research programme investigated a major feature of many slot machines which has so far been neglected by experimental research – the free-spins bonus feature. The first major focus of this research was a series of experiments that investigated whether participants prefer to play a slot-machine simulation with a free-spins bonus feature. In each experiment participants gambled on two simulations, one with a free-spins feature and a similar machine without free spins. Following this, participants could switch between the same simulations and the number of spins they made on each simulation was measured. Participants preferred the free-spins simulation, but only when the free-spins feature incorporated an increased rate of wins, music, animations, and graphics advertising the presence of the free-spins feature. In the final experiment investigating preference, we investigated whether responding was influenced by whether participants gambled with hypothetical money, or credit that could be exchanged for tangible rewards. Participants preferred the complex free-spins simulation similarly regardless of what they were gambling with, but selected larger bet amounts and gambled for longer when gambling with hypothetical money. The second major focus of this research programme was an investigation of whether free-spins features cause increased gambling persistence – a hallmark of disordered gambling. We developed a new persistence-measuring task which was adapted from research investigating Behavioural Momentum Theory. Participants gambled on two simulations in a multiple schedule design. An initial baseline phase consisted of four alternations of each component, one of which had the complex free-spins feature demonstrated to increase preference in the earlier experiments. Baseline phases then alternated with disruption phases where video-clips were embedded into the top right corner of the simulations. The rate at which participants gambled during baseline was compared to the rate at which they gambled when the videos were present, with bigger relative decreases in response rate during the disruption phases indicating less persistence. The free-spins feature did not cause participants to gamble more persistently. Further experiments also assessed whether different frequencies of wins caused participants to gamble more persistently, and results indicated that they did not. The findings of this research programme have implications for Behavioural Momentum Theory, suggesting that comparing response rate during disruption to response rate during baseline is not highly sensitive to small differences in reinforcement schedules. The findings are also relevant for slot-machine legislation, providing an indication that limiting or removing free-spins features may reduce player enjoyment without reducing persistent gambling. Furthermore, the task developed in the persistence investigation provides a useful tool which can be used to investigate how other features of slot machines influence persistence. Future research could, for example, investigate how free-spins features interact with other slot-machine features to influence gambling behaviour.</p>

The Role of Free Spins in Slot-machine Gambling

<p>Slot-machine gambling is disproportionately associated with problem gambling. It is therefore important to develop an understanding of how the programming and features of slot machines influence gambling. The current research programme investigated a major feature of many slot machines which has so far been neglected by experimental research – the free-spins bonus feature. The first major focus of this research was a series of experiments that investigated whether participants prefer to play a slot-machine simulation with a free-spins bonus feature. In each experiment participants gambled on two simulations, one with a free-spins feature and a similar machine without free spins. Following this, participants could switch between the same simulations and the number of spins they made on each simulation was measured. Participants preferred the free-spins simulation, but only when the free-spins feature incorporated an increased rate of wins, music, animations, and graphics advertising the presence of the free-spins feature. In the final experiment investigating preference, we investigated whether responding was influenced by whether participants gambled with hypothetical money, or credit that could be exchanged for tangible rewards. Participants preferred the complex free-spins simulation similarly regardless of what they were gambling with, but selected larger bet amounts and gambled for longer when gambling with hypothetical money. The second major focus of this research programme was an investigation of whether free-spins features cause increased gambling persistence – a hallmark of disordered gambling. We developed a new persistence-measuring task which was adapted from research investigating Behavioural Momentum Theory. Participants gambled on two simulations in a multiple schedule design. An initial baseline phase consisted of four alternations of each component, one of which had the complex free-spins feature demonstrated to increase preference in the earlier experiments. Baseline phases then alternated with disruption phases where video-clips were embedded into the top right corner of the simulations. The rate at which participants gambled during baseline was compared to the rate at which they gambled when the videos were present, with bigger relative decreases in response rate during the disruption phases indicating less persistence. The free-spins feature did not cause participants to gamble more persistently. Further experiments also assessed whether different frequencies of wins caused participants to gamble more persistently, and results indicated that they did not. The findings of this research programme have implications for Behavioural Momentum Theory, suggesting that comparing response rate during disruption to response rate during baseline is not highly sensitive to small differences in reinforcement schedules. The findings are also relevant for slot-machine legislation, providing an indication that limiting or removing free-spins features may reduce player enjoyment without reducing persistent gambling. Furthermore, the task developed in the persistence investigation provides a useful tool which can be used to investigate how other features of slot machines influence persistence. Future research could, for example, investigate how free-spins features interact with other slot-machine features to influence gambling behaviour.</p>

Herding the Hordes: Using Location-Based Services and Mobile Messaging to Affect Visitor Behavior

This study investigates modes of moving visitors in a tourist location using a location-based service. Two field experiments were conducted at a zoo using real visitors as participants and behavior-based dependent variables. Experiment 1 included 2,618 visitors and investigated whether the amount of rewards, in the form of free spins on a wheel of fortune, would affect the choice to move to this wheel and claim the offered rewards. The choice of using this offer was used as a dependent variable. Experiment 2 included 970 visitors and investigated whether labelling participants with a fitting trait led them to move to a certain location. Geographical data using iBeacon logging was used as the dependent variable. Using chi-square tests for independence, we causally show that both the reward and the label had a positive and significant effect on moving the visitors to the targeted location.

Preferred electronic gaming machine environments of recreational versus problem gamblers: An in-venue mixed methods study

The aim of the current study was to examine the different EGM environmental preferences of recreational compared to problem gamblers in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 EGM gamblers recruited from EGM venues in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Interview data were organised using a thematic analysis into 42 major environmental features that gamblers identified as being of importance in choosing where and what to play. The frequency with which certain environmental characteristics were mentioned was analysed quantitatively, along with demographic information and PGSI status. Results showed that the most common reason for selecting the gambling platform was social, and in-venue gambling was largely but not exclusively preferred for this reason. The most frequently mentioned reason for selecting the provider was based on being close to home and enjoying the service at the venue. Finally, games were frequently selected based on features such as free spins, minimum bet sizes, graphics and in-game sounds. The survey results identified that persons experiencing gambling problems more frequently mentioned the availability of a number of game choices and the perceived potential for winning as important aspects in choosing an EGM environment. This study provides some preliminary evidence on what features of the EGM environment are important to players, and most conducive to safer gambling environments. The findings from this study will inform policy initiatives for player protection through the development of safer EGM gambling environments.L’objectif de la présente étude était d’examiner les différentes préférences quant à l’environnement d’un site d’appareils de loterie vidéo entre les joueurs qui font un usage récréatif de ces appareils et les joueurs à problèmes en Australie. Des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été menées auprès de 59 utilisateurs d’appareils de loterie vidéo recrutés dans divers lieux où de tels appareils sont accessibles dans le Queensland et en Nouvelle-Galles-du-Sud (Australie). Une analyse thématique des données des entrevues a permis d’organiser les données en 42 grandes caractéristiques environnementales ayant de l’importance pour les joueurs dans le choix d’un jeu et de l’endroit où jouer. La fréquence dans laquelle certaines caractéristiques environnementales ont été mentionnées a fait l’objet d’une analyse quantitative, de même que les données démographiques et l’indice de gravité du jeu problématique des joueurs. Les résultats indiquent que les raisons les plus communes pour le choix d’une plateforme de jeux étaient d’ordre social, et que, par conséquent, la préférence était en grande partie, mais non exclusivement, accordée aux espaces de jeu situés dans des lieux publics. La raison la plus fréquemment mentionnée pour le choix d’un lieu de jeu était la courte distance de la résidence et les services offerts par l’établissement. Enfin, le choix des jeux reposait généralement sur des caractéristiques comme l’offre de parties gratuites, le montant minimal des mises et les effets visuels et sonores du jeu. Les résultats de l’enquête indiquent que les personnes aux prises avec des problèmes de jeu mentionnaient plus fréquemment, parmi les caractéristiques importantes pour le choix d’un site d’appareils de loterie vidéo, l’éventail des jeux offerts et la perception d’une plus grande possibilité de gagner. Cette étude fournit de manière préliminaire des données probantes sur les caractéristiques environnementales des sites d’appareils de loterie vidéo qui sont importantes pour les joueurs et sur celles qui sont les plus propices à la création d’environnements de jeu sécuritaires. Les conclusions de l’étude éclaireront l’élaboration d’initiatives stratégiques visant à protéger les joueurs par l’établissement de sites d’appareils de loterie vidéo sécuritaires.

Preferred electronic gaming machine environments of recreational versus problem gamblers: An in-venue mixed methods study

The aim of the current study was to examine the different EGM environmental preferences of recreational compared to problem gamblers in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 EGM gamblers recruited from EGM venues in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Interview data were organised using a thematic analysis into 42 major environmental features that gamblers identified as being of importance in choosing where and what to play. The frequency with which certain environmental characteristics were mentioned was analysed quantitatively, along with demographic information and PGSI status. Results showed that the most common reason for selecting the gambling platform was social, and in-venue gambling was largely but not exclusively preferred for this reason. The most frequently mentioned reason for selecting the provider was based on being close to home and enjoying the service at the venue. Finally, games were frequently selected based on features such as free spins, minimum bet sizes, graphics and in-game sounds. The survey results identified that persons experiencing gambling problems more frequently mentioned the availability of a number of game choices and the perceived potential for winning as important aspects in choosing an EGM environment. This study provides some preliminary evidence on what features of the EGM environment are important to players, and most conducive to safer gambling environments. The findings from this study will inform policy initiatives for player protection through the development of safer EGM gambling environments.L’objectif de la présente étude était d’examiner les différentes préférences quant à l’environnement d’un site d’appareils de loterie vidéo entre les joueurs qui font un usage récréatif de ces appareils et les joueurs à problèmes en Australie. Des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été menées auprès de 59 utilisateurs d’appareils de loterie vidéo recrutés dans divers lieux où de tels appareils sont accessibles dans le Queensland et en Nouvelle-Galles-du-Sud (Australie). Une analyse thématique des données des entrevues a permis d’organiser les données en 42 grandes caractéristiques environnementales ayant de l’importance pour les joueurs dans le choix d’un jeu et de l’endroit où jouer. La fréquence dans laquelle certaines caractéristiques environnementales ont été mentionnées a fait l’objet d’une analyse quantitative, de même que les données démographiques et l’indice de gravité du jeu problématique des joueurs. Les résultats indiquent que les raisons les plus communes pour le choix d’une plateforme de jeux étaient d’ordre social, et que, par conséquent, la préférence était en grande partie, mais non exclusivement, accordée aux espaces de jeu situés dans des lieux publics. La raison la plus fréquemment mentionnée pour le choix d’un lieu de jeu était la courte distance de la résidence et les services offerts par l’établissement. Enfin, le choix des jeux reposait généralement sur des caractéristiques comme l’offre de parties gratuites, le montant minimal des mises et les effets visuels et sonores du jeu. Les résultats de l’enquête indiquent que les personnes aux prises avec des problèmes de jeu mentionnaient plus fréquemment, parmi les caractéristiques importantes pour le choix d’un site d’appareils de loterie vidéo, l’éventail des jeux offerts et la perception d’une plus grande possibilité de gagner. Cette étude fournit de manière préliminaire des données probantes sur les caractéristiques environnementales des sites d’appareils de loterie vidéo qui sont importantes pour les joueurs et sur celles qui sont les plus propices à la création d’environnements de jeu sécuritaires. Les conclusions de l’étude éclaireront l’élaboration d’initiatives stratégiques visant à protéger les joueurs par l’établissement de sites d’appareils de loterie vidéo sécuritaires.

Structural, Electrical and Magnetic Investigations of Conductive ZnO: Co Thin Films Deposited by DC Reactive Magnetron Co-Sputtering

Zn1-xCoxO (0 < x < 14.6) diluted magnetic semiconductor coatings have been obtained by reactive DC magnetron sputtering of metallic Zn and Co targets at high pressure and high temperature. The coatings structural properties have been investigated by X-ray diffraction. All as-deposited coatings are crystalized in ZnO structure and neither traces of metallic nor oxide Co-rich clusters were detected in the films. The temperature dependence of the magnetization shows a paramagnetic Curie-Weiss behavior with antiferromagnetic interaction due to the associated spins and simple paramagnetic curie behavior of isolated free spins.