Abstract
Multiline slot machines allow for a unique outcome type referred to as a loss disguised as a win (LDW). An LDW occurs when a player gains credits on a spin, but fewer credits than their original wager (e.g. 15-cent gain on a 20-cent wager). These outcomes alter the gambler’s play experience by providing frequent, albeit smaller, credit gains throughout a playing session that are in fact net losses. Despite this negative overall value, research has shown that players physiologically respond to LDWs as if they are wins, not losses. These outcomes also create a “smoother” experience for the player that seems to promote a highly absorbing, flow-like state that we have called “dark flow”. Past research has indicated that there may be a relationship between problem gambling status and dark flow, as well as between dark flow, depression, and gambling expectancies. In this study, we sought to further understand these relationships, while examining the influence of LDWs on game preference in the context of single versus multiline slots play. We used a realistic slot machine simulator equipped with a force transducer to measure how hard players pressed the spin button following different outcomes. This measure of arousal showed that LDWs were treated similarly to small wins. Participants overwhelmingly preferred the multiline game and experienced more positive affect while playing it, compared to the single-line game. Problem gambling severity index scores were related to dark flow in both games, but this relationship was stronger for the multiline game. Additionally, depression symptomatology and dark flow were strongly correlated in the multiline game, with significant relationships between depression and gambling expectancy, and gambling expectancy and dark flow ratings also emerging.
Highlights
Slot machines are one of, if not the most, pervasive forms of casino gambling in North America (Schull 2012)
The main goals of the current study are to test the following hypotheses: (1) as indexed by force, loss disguised as a win (LDW) will be reacted to as though they are wins, not losses, (2) players will experience greater positive affect and prefer multiline games over single-line games, (3) dark flow states will be preferentially achieved through multiline games, as opposed to single-line games, and (4) there will be an association between the propensity to experience dark flow states while playing slots and problem gambling status, as well as a relation between dark flow states, depression, and the propensity to gamble in the hope of elevating mood and relieving tension
Using the force applied to the spin button as a measure of players’ arousal, we showed that players applied the smallest amount of force following full losses, and large amounts of force following large wins
Summary
Slot machines are one of, if not the most, pervasive forms of casino gambling in North America (Schull 2012). While traditional 3-reel machines typically only allow players to wager on a single payline, newer multiline slot machines, as their name suggests, allow the player to wager on multiple paylines simultaneously—sometimes upwards of 20 lines at once. Do these multiline games allow for larger and more variable bet sizes throughout a playing session, but they allow for a unique type of spin outcome called a loss disguised as a win (LDW; Dixon et al 2010). The presence of LDWs in multiline slot machines makes it possible for players to be reinforced for spins on which they are losing money, enabling the inevitable mounting losses that a player will experience to be effectively masked as positive experiences
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