Gaming Machines Research Articles

Factors Affecting Slot Machine Performance in an Electronic Gaming Machine Facility

Factors Affecting Slot Machine Performance in an Electronic Gaming Machine Facility

Gambling and Gambling Harm in New Zealand: a 28-Year Case Study

It has long been asserted that increased gambling availability leads to increased participation and harm (availability hypothesis). It has also been proposed that over time participation and harm decrease even when availability continues to rise (adaptation hypothesis). New Zealand has national gambling and problem gambling surveys dating from the mid-1980s. They include five-yearly surveys of gambling behaviour and attitudes from 1985 to 2005 and surveys of gambling and problem gambling in 1990 and 1999. The National Gambling Study (NGS) (2012–2015) was in part designed to assess changes in behaviour, attitudes and gambling-related harm since the 1999 and 2005 surveys. Selected NGS data are examined in relation to data from earlier surveys. A national lottery, instant lotteries and electronic gaming machines were introduced during the late 1980s. Since then, gambling availability continued to increase. Participation in most newly introduced gambling forms increased markedly, usually within the first year or two, and then decreased, often substantially. Following an initial rise, contrary to the availability hypothesis, overall participation declined. This was accompanied by a decline in problem gambling prevalence. These findings are consistent with adaptation. Since 2000, while participation continued to fall, problem gambling prevalence plateaued. This finding appears to be at variance with both the availability and adaptation hypotheses. It points to the importance of factors other than gambling availability in determining problem gambling and related harm. Possible reasons for the plateauing of problem gambling in the face of substantial reductions in participation are considered. They have implications for future research and policy.

Measuring the slot machine zone with attentional dual tasks and respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Recent accounts of problematic electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling have suggested attentional pathology among at-risk players. A putative slot machine zone is characterized by an intense immersion during game play, causing a neglect of outside events and competing goals. Prior studies of EGM immersion have relied heavily upon retrospective self-report scales. Here, the authors attempt to identify behavioral and psychophysiological correlates of the immersion experience. In samples of undergraduate students and experienced EGM users from the community, they tested 2 potential behavioral measures of immersion during EGM use: peripheral target detection and probe-caught mind wandering. During the EGM play sessions, electrocardiogram data were collected for analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of calming self-regulation governed by the parasympathetic nervous system. Subjective measures of immersion during the EGM play session were consistently related to risk of problem gambling. Problem gambling score, in turn, significantly predicted decrements in peripheral target detection among experienced EGM users. Both samples showed robust RSA decreases during EGM play, indicating parasympathetic withdrawal, but neither immersion nor gambling risk were related to this change. This study identifies peripheral attention as a candidate for quantifying game immersion and its links with risk of problem gambling, with implications for responsible gambling interventions at both the game and venue levels. (PsycINFO Database Record

Improving spatial microsimulation estimates of health outcomes by including geographic indicators of health behaviour: The example of problem gambling

Gambling is an important public health issue, with recent estimates ranking it as the third largest contributor of disability adjusted life years lost to ill-health. However, no studies to date have estimated the spatial distribution of gambling-related harm in small areas on the basis of surveys of problem gambling. This study extends spatial microsimulation approaches to include a spatially-referenced measure of health behaviour as a constraint variable in order to better estimate the spatial distribution of problem gambling. Specifically, this study allocates georeferenced electronic gaming machine expenditure data to small residential areas using a Huff model. This study demonstrates how the incorporation of auxiliary spatial data on health behaviours such as gambling expenditure can improve spatial microsimulation estimates of health outcomes like problem gambling.

クラブ,スペード,ダイヤ,恵まれない立場 : メルボルンにおける電子ゲーム機[ポーカー賭博機]の地理

クラブ,スペード,ダイヤ,恵まれない立場 : メルボルンにおける電子ゲーム機[ポーカー賭博機]の地理

Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Environments: Market Segments and Risk.

This study used a marketing-research paradigm to explore gamblers' attraction to EGMs based on different elements of the environment. A select set of environmental features was sourced from a prior study (Thorne et al. in J Gambl Issues 2016b), and a discrete choice experiment was conducted through an online survey. Using the same dataset first described by Rockloff et al. (EGM Environments that contribute to excess consumption and harm, 2015), a sample of 245 EGM gamblers were sourced from clubs in Victoria, Australia, and 7516 gamblers from an Australian national online survey-panel. Participants' choices amongst sets of hypothetical gambling environments allowed for an estimation of the implied individual-level utilities for each feature (e.g., general sounds, location, etc.). K-means clustering on these utilities identified four unique market segments for EGM gambling, representing four different types of consumers. The segments were named according to their dominant features: Social, Value, High Roller and Internet. We found that the environments orientated towards the Social and Value segments were most conducive to attracting players with relatively few gambling problems, while the High Roller and Internet-focused environments had greater appeal for players with problems and vulnerabilities. This study has generated new insights into the kinds of gambling environments that are most consistent with safe play.

Association of video gaming with some risky behaviors of secondary school adolescents in Abha, Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of video gaming among secondary school adolescents and to investigate their association with some risky behaviors. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 336 students randomly selected from secondary schools in Abha City, Saudi Arabia, during the academic year 2015-2016. A predesigned self-report questionnaire was used to assess students' sociodemographic data, pattern, motivators and drawbacks of video gaming, previous academic year grades, history of violent acts, road traffic accidents (RTA), and traffic rules violations. Weight and height were measured for every participant and the BMI was calculated. About 80% of students played video games and 76% owned a video game machine. The median onset of video gaming was 10 years. The most important motivator for video gaming was 'give a chance for fun and excitement' (93.7%), followed by 'give a chance to get rid of the boredom and leisure' (92.3%). The most frequently reported social drawbacks were interfering with sleep time (69%), physical activity (64%), and meal time (59%). BMI was not significantly associated with the pattern of video game playing (P>0.05). Academic performance was significantly lower among students who used to game in cybercafes (P=0.001). Prevalence of tobacco smoking and some risky behaviors such as traffic rule violations, significant RTA, and violence were encountered more significantly among those preferring race and drift games (P<0.05) and used to game in cybercafes (P<0.05). Video gaming among secondary school students in Abha, Saudi Arabia, is relatively high. Some risky behaviors such as smoking, violence, significant RTA, and violation of traffic rules were significantly associated with race and drift games and gaming in cybercafes. School-based educational programs for both adolescents and their parents should be provided to gain skills about effective time management, avoid over-gaming, risky games and gaming in cybercafes. Legal restriction on importing and selling risky video games should be considered by the government.

Gambling behavior in alcohol-serving and non-alcohol-serving-venues: a study of electronic gaming machine players using account records

Aim: Contextual factors, such as venue characteristics appear to influence gambling behavior. However, few studies have compared the relationship between gambling behavior in alcohol-serving venues (ASVs) and non-alcohol serving venues (NASVs). The aim of the study was to examine individual gambling behavior in ASVs and NASVs.Method: A repeated-measures design was used to examine individual gambling behavior in ASVs and NASVs covering a month. The sample comprised 1452 observations of 726 individuals (25.2% female). A quantile regression model was conducted to examine individual differences in gambling behavior (number of days, sessions, bets made, stake, time spent, money lost, and average bet size) across ASVs and NASVs. Analyses were broken down by gambler category (those that reached legal mandatory spending limits and those that did not) as well as on time frame (overall gambling behavior and average in-session gambling behavior).Results: Individuals gambled regularly in NASVs and occasionally in ASVs. Compared to NASVs, in-session gambling behavior was more variable in ASVs. In-session analysis showed that non-limit reaching gamblers staked less money in ASVs than in NASVs but lost more money in ASVs than in NASVs. Limit reaching gamblers showed no differences in gambling behavior across venues.Conclusions: The findings show that in-session gambling behavior is more variable in ASVs compared to NASVs regardless of gambling category. Non-limit reaching gamblers may be more sensitive to contextual factors than limit reaching gamblers and appear to be more willing to take more risk in ASVs compared to NASVs. The contextual implications are discussed.

Identifying electronic gaming machine gambling personae through unsupervised session classification

The rising accessibility in gambling products, such as Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM), has increased interest in the effects of gambling; in particular, the potential for impulse control disorders, such as problem gambling. Nevertheless, empirical research of EGM gambling behaviour is scarce. In this exploratory study, we apply data mining techniques on 46,416 gambling sessions, collected in situ from 288 EGMs. Our research focused on identifying the at-risk behavioural markers of sessions to help distinguish gambling personae. Our data included measures of gambling involvement, out-of pocket expense of sessions, amount won, and cost of gambling. This research, discusses the methodology used to collect and analyze the required gambling measures, explains the criteria used for identifying valid sessions, and combines outlier mining methods to identify instances of heavily involved gambling (i.e., outliers). Our results suggest that sessions were classified as potential non-problem, potential low-risk, potential moderate risk, and potential problem gambling sessions. Further, outlier sessions were more heavily involved in terms of gambling intensity and amount redeemed, despite having low duration times. Finally, our methods suggest that the lack of player identification does not prevent one from identifying the potential incidence of problem gambling behaviour.

Digitisation of manual composite layup task knowledge using gaming technology

Abstract Increased market demand for composite products and shortage of expert laminators is compelling the composite industry to explore ways to acquire layup skills from experts and transfer them to novices and eventually to machines. There is a lack of holistic methods in literature for capturing composite layup skills especially involving complex moulds. This research aims to develop an informatics-based method, enabled by consumer-grade gaming technology and machine learning, to capture and digitise manufacturing task knowledge from skill-intensive hand layup. The digitisation is underpinned by the proposed human-workpiece interaction theory and implemented to automatically extract and decode key knowledge constituents such as layup strategies, ply manipulation techniques, motion mechanics and problem-solving during hand layup, collectively categorised as layup skills. The significance of this research is its potential to facilitate cost-effective transfer of skills from experts to novices, real-time automated supervision of hand layup and automation of layup tasks in the future.

Impacts of Smoking Bans in Gaming Venues

Recent changes in smoking laws have influenced gambling behaviour at Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) venues. In this paper we review the literature that examines the interrelationship between gambling, problem gambling and smoking in order to gauge the indirect effects of smoking bans in gaming venues. We then perform an analysis on the consequences of a smoking ban in Victoria, Australia that was instituted on September 1st , 2002. This analysis investigates the nature of the pattern of drops in local EGM revenue and the impact on the state tax revenue.

5-16 ゲーム機・ゲームソフト

5-16 ゲーム機・ゲームソフト

Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) in Gambling Disorder and Its Treatment

Recently, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare estimated the prevalence rate of gambling disorder to be 4.8 percent of the population. This rate is outstandingly higher than other countries with prevalence rates between 0.25 and 2.0 percent. It is also estimated that no fewer than 5 million Japanese suffer from the disease. In the last two years, 100 new patients visited the author's clinic. On an average, they started gambling at the age of 19.7 years, and incurring debt at the age of 25.8 years. They first visited the clinic at an average age of 38.2 years, and the average amount they had spent on gambling up to that point was 13 million yen. Twenty percent of them had taken some legal measures to reduce their burden from debts before seeking treatment. Sixty percent of pathological gamblers exclusively played pachinko and slot machine games. Patients who did not play on such machines accounted for no less than 2 percent of cases. This is not surprising, considering the fact that Japan has nearly 4.6 million pachinko and slot machines, which account for two thirds of the total electric gaming machines in the world. Japanese legislation does not regard pachinko and slot machines as gambling, but merely as gaming. Therefore, pachinko companies have no restrictions as such to promote their market. They can advertise freely in newspapers and TV commercials. Pachinko halls are filled with lighting, sounds, and visual effects to stimulate and excite gamblers. The harmful effects of gambling disorder include depression, loss of employment and friends, marital discord, fraud, embezzlement, theft in the family, and theft from non-family members. The most helpful therapy involves attending self-help group sessions at least once a week. One of the best-known self-help groups is Gamblers Anonymous (GA); there are 162 GA groups in Japan. The author believes there should be one GA group for every city across the nation. Unfortunately, psychiatrists, who should be taking the lead in providing diagnosis and treatment, are showing little interest in gambling problems. Unless all psychiatrists develop the ability to deal with the disease effectively, there is little hope for patients and families to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It is also time for the administration to implement necessary measures instead of averting its eyes from the harsh reality and promoting publicly managed gambling. Considering the miserable situation, the administration should not lift its ban on the casino industry.

Types of gambling and levels of harm: A UK study to assess severity of presentation in a treatment-seeking population.

Background and aimPrevious international research emphasized that some forms of gambling are more “addictive” than others. More recently, research has shown that we should shift our attention from the type of gambling activity to the level of involvement in a number of different gambling activities. The aim of our study was to verify whether a higher Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score was associated with particular gambling activities and evaluate the impact of involvement on gambling behavior.MethodsA total of 736 treatment-seeking individuals with gambling disorder were assessed at the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London. First, the independent two-sample t-test and the Mann–Whitney test were used to verify if the PGSI score changed significantly according to the gambling activity at a bivariate level. Second, we conducted a cluster analysis and finally, we fitted a linear regression model in order to verify if some variables are useful to predict gambling addiction severity.ResultsThe PGSI score was significantly higher for lower stakes gaming machine gamblers (1% significance level) and for fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) gamblers (5% significance level) at a bivariate level. Moreover, such finding was confirmed by cluster and linear regression analyses.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicated that gambling addiction severity was related to gambling involvement and, for a given level of gambling involvement, gambling addiction severity may vary according to gambling type, with a particularly significant increase for FOBT and gaming machine gambling.

An empirical real-world study of losses disguised as wins in electronic gaming machines

Losses disguised as wins (LDWs) appear to reinforce gambling persistence. However, little research has examined this phenomenon with real gamblers in natural gambling settings. We aimed to examine the relationship between within-session outcome size and subsequent gambling persistence. Account-based gambling data of individuals playing LDW games over a randomly selected day (2,035,339 bets made by 8636 individuals) was examined. We used a logistic mixed effects model to examine the relationship between the outcome of the previous bet (loss, LDW and real wins) and the odds of continuing betting in a game session. The odds of continuing betting in a game session were positively associated with the outcome of the previous bet. Compared to LDWs, losses lowered the odds of continuing a game session. In contrast, real wins implied greater odds of continuing a game session compared to LDWs. It is concluded that LDWs increase the likelihood of continuing betting compared to losses, but decrease the likelihood of continuing to gamble compared to real wins. As LDWs increase the number of bets made within a gambling session, and hence within-session gambling persistence, LDWs may potentially play an etiological role in the development of gambling problems over time.

Hitting the jackpot: the influence of monetary payout on gambling behaviour

Restrictions on monetary payout may promote player engagement in gambling as a form of entertainment rather than as a source of income. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of monetary prize magnitude upon gambling behaviour in a community sample, and the degree to which this association is moderated by gambling risk factors. One hundred and eighty-seven adults completed an online survey assessing motivation, impulsivity and affect. Participants were given a series of vignettes and asked to estimate how much they would gamble to win monetary prizes of increasing amounts with and without accrued gambling debt. Participants reported increased gambling in response to increased monetary payout. Debt moderated these outcomes, such that electronic gaming machine (EGM) and lottery expenditures and number of lottery games played decreased with increased debt; this effect was most pronounced at elevated monetary prizes. The association between duration of EGM play and monetary payout was moderated by gender only. Results suggest that self-reported gambling behaviours increased with monetary payout even across qualitatively different gambling products, and across gamblers with different motivations for gambling, levels of impulsivity, and negative affect. The restriction of monetary payouts warrants further research attention as a form of problem gambling prevention.

Risk Factors of Adolescent Pathological Gambling: Permissive Gambling Culture and Individual Factors

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationships between types of gambling activity, problem behaviors, and self-esteem with adolescent problem gambling in Hong Kong. From a sample of 2,258 students aged between 12 and 17, study results showed that playing Poker and gaming in Amusement Game Centers (entertainment venues with gaming machines) had the strongest predictive value, implying a gambling-permissive culture regarding gambling as an entertainment, with parental and societal support and availability of gambling opportunities, has more impact on adolescent problem gambling than other personal risk factors like problem behaviors and low self-esteem. Prevention strategies at individual and societal levels are discussed.

Crimping the Croupier: Electronic and mechanical automation of table, community and novelty games in Australia

Technological innovation has increased electronic and mechanical automation to traditional games that replace or augment human croupiers, and also change how the games are enjoyed. Little is known about how these automated products may influence people's gambling or entice new players to try these table and community games. Research regarding the characteristics of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) has provided insights into the potential consequences associated with technological enhancements. However, without knowing how these products differ to their traditional counterparts, it is difficult to begin to understand their implications on player expenditures and product safety. An Australian national environmental scan of these electronically and mechanically enhanced table-game and community-game products was conducted to identify the characteristics of these automated products Australia-wide. Based on EGM research (Armstrong &amp; Rockloff, 2015), the "VICES" framework was identified as an appropriate organising principle for surveying the features of automated products. The VICES acronym specifies 5 criteria by which automated products might differ from traditional table-games: (v)isual and auditory enhancements, (i)llusion of control, (c)ognitive complexity, (e)xpedited play, and (s)ocial customisation. The findings suggest that automation provides the potential for the provision of products that intensify gambling engagement with the attendant potential for gambling-related harm. Further research, however, is needed to find if this potential harm is manifest in real-world gambling environments.

Effects of High Frequency Repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation on Gambling Reinforcement, Delay Discounting, and Stroop Interference in Men with Pathological Gambling

Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can reduce cravings and improve cognitive function in substance dependent individuals. Whether these benefits extend to individuals with pathological gambling (PG) is unclear. High-frequency rTMS of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) of the right dorsolateral PFC can reduce impulsive choice in healthy volunteers. This study aimed to assess the effects of these two protocols on gambling reinforcement and related responses in otherwise healthy men with PG. Participants (n = 9) underwent active or sham treatments at weekly intervals in a repeated-measures, Latin square design. Subjective and physiological responses were assessed before and after a 15-min slot machine game on each session. Delay discounting and Stroop tasks measured post-game impulsive choice and attentional control. Multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for winnings on the slot machine under each treatment, found that rTMS reduced the post-game increase in Desire to Gamble; cTBS reduced amphetamine-like effects, and decreased diastolic blood pressure. Treatment had no significant univariate effects on bet size or speed of play in the game; however, a multivariate effect for the two indices suggested that treatment decreased behavioral activation. Neither treatment reduced impulsive choice, while both treatments increased Stroop interference. rTMS and cTBS can reduce gambling reinforcement in non-comorbid men with PG. Separate processes appear to mediate gambling reinforcement and betting behavior as against delay discounting and Stroop interference. Interventions that modify risky as opposed to temporal aspects of decision making may better predict therapeutic response in PG.

The relationship between electronic gaming machine accessibility and police-recorded domestic violence: A spatio-temporal analysis of 654 postcodes in Victoria, Australia, 2005–2014

An emerging body of research has documented an association between problem gambling and domestic violence in a range of study populations and locations. Yet little research has analysed this relationship at ecological scales. This study investigates the proposition that gambling accessibility and the incidence of domestic violence might be linked.The association between police-recorded domestic violence and electronic gaming machine accessibility is described at the postcode level. Police recorded family incidents per 10,000 and domestic-violence related physical assault offenses per 10,000 were used as outcome variables. Electronic gaming machine accessibility was measured as electronic gaming machines per 10,000 and gambling venues per 100,000. Bayesian spatio-temporal mixed-effects models were used to estimate the associations between gambling accessibility and domestic violence, using annual postcode-level data in Victoria, Australia between 2005 and 2014, adjusting for a range of covariates.Significant associations of policy-relevant magnitudes were found between all domestic violence and EGM accessibility variables. Postcodes with no electronic gaming machines were associated with 20% (95% credibility interval [C.I.]: 15%, 24%) fewer family incidents per 10,000 and 30% (95% C.I.: 24%, 35%) fewer domestic-violence assaults per 10,000, when compared with postcodes with 75 electronic gaming machine per 10,000. The causal relations underlying these associations are unclear. Quasi-experimental research is required to determine if reducing gambling accessibility is likely to reduce the incidence of domestic violence.