Slot Machines Research Articles

Cashless gambling: Qualitative analysis of consumer perspectives regarding the harm minimization potential of digital payment systems for electronic gaming machines.

Land-based gambling venues remain predominantly cash-based despite broader consumer trends toward digital payments. Little prior literature directly investigates the role of payment methods in gambling; however, digital payment systems offer a key intervention point for gambling harm minimization. This study explores the perspectives of electronic gaming machine (EGM) gamblers regarding the concept of cashless gambling-the ability to gamble without using physical currency. Twenty-six Australian EGM gamblers (10 females, 16 males; aged 24-76 years) participated in four online focus group discussions. Using content analysis and a pragmatic approach, data were organized thematically in relation to consumer perceptions about the benefits and risks of cashless gambling, factors potentially influencing uptake of cashless gambling, and recommendations about harm reduction features that could be incorporated into the system. Cashless gambling was perceived to present important opportunities for more useful and meaningful harm reduction measures based on the ability to track a user's complete gambling activity. However, participants reported reluctance toward adoption of cashless gambling, tending to perceive such systems as being overly restrictive and invasive, and potentially facilitating (over)spending, depending on design and implementation. Participants commonly perceived systems as offering little value to individuals who gamble without experiencing significant harms. Perceived irrelevance and privacy concerns appear to be major barriers to adoption of a cashless gambling system with strong harm reduction features. Our findings provide insights for policy makers considering the optimal design, implementation, and marketing of cashless gambling from a harm reduction perspective. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Demystifying the Two-Armed Futurity Bandit’s Unfairness and Apparent Fairness

While a gambler may occasionally win, continuous gambling inevitably results in a net loss to the casino. This study experimentally demonstrates the profitability of a particularly deceptive casino game: a two-armed antique Mills Futurity slot machine. The main findings clearly show that both non-random and random two-arm strategies, predetermined by the player and repeated without interruption, are always profitable for the casino, despite two coins being refunded for every two consecutive losses by the gambler. We theoretically explore the cyclical nature of slot machine strategies and speculate on the impact of the frequency of switching strategies on casino returns. Our results not only assist casino owners in developing and improving casino designs, but also guide gamblers to participate more cautiously in gambling.

Colliding harms of gambling and gaming: A four-wave longitudinal population study of at-risk gambling and gaming in Finland.

Aims: Both gambling and digital gaming are growing in popularity and there is ongoing discussion about their convergence. This population-based longitudinal survey study investigated how gambling and digital gaming types contribute to at-risk gambling and gaming. Methods: The study was based on a representative sample of 18-75-year-olds from mainland Finland. Survey data were collected at 6-month intervals in 2021-2022, starting in April 2021. Of original T1 respondents, 58.95% took part in all four time points. In total, 3,608 observations from 902 individuals were analysed. Outcome measures were at-risk gambling and gaming based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index and the Internet Gaming Disorder Test. Various types of gambling and gaming were investigated. Results: Population-averaged models showed that different forms of gambling were associated with a higher risk of at-risk gaming. Online casino games were associated with the highest likelihood of at-risk gambling and gaming. Prevalence of digital gaming problems was low. Hybrid models were used to investigate the longitudinal within-person and between-person effects of gambling and gaming activities. Online casino games and offline slot machines increased at-risk gambling. Microtransactions within digital games increased at-risk gambling and gaming over time, but the amount of money spent on digital gaming was small compared to gambling. Conclusions: Our results underline the risks of EGMs and online gambling for the participants. Although gambling and gaming are converging, harm is mostly based on gambling.

Longitudinal perceptions of gamified loyalty programs (GLPs): a mix of slot machines and entertainment toys

PurposeThis paper seeks to understand users' perceptions of their experiences in mobile applications (apps) with gamified loyalty programs (GLPs) that use rewards as the primary engagement vehicle. The research focuses particularly on the motivations to further interact with GLPs and the motivational changes occurring after successive interactions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted weekly open qualitative interviews over a month (four rounds of interviews) with five Portuguese active users of the mobile app Yorn Shake It, from Vodafone, which is a relevant case study to illustrate GLPs in mobile apps.FindingsParticipants' motivations to interact with the mentioned GLP are shaped by the reward incentive and users' perceptions of the gamified interactive experience. Motivational changes occur regardless of the presence of external contingencies and depend on contextual changes or perceived results of the gamified experience. This means that rewards also satisfy intrinsic needs, but users may remain connected to the system as long as fun experiences are provided without exhausting perceptions. Also, motivation may turn to reward contingencies when the challenge becomes boring.OriginalityThis is the first qualitative study explaining the perceptions of gamified experiences after continued participation, extending knowledge about the importance of a fair balance between the value and achievement of rewards and the entertainment of the challenge provided after continued exposure. The findings provide insights to GLP marketing managers and developers to better engage target audiences according to their needs and past experience, creating levels of challenges and fair rewards to maintain motivation and prevent abandonment after continued exposure.

The near-miss effect in online slot machine gambling: A series of conceptual replications.

Near-misses are a structural characteristic of gambling products that can be engineered within modern digital games. Over a series of preregistered experiments using an online slot machine simulation, we investigated the impact of near-miss outcomes on subjective ratings (motivation, valence) and two behavioral measures (speed of gambling, bet size). Participants were recruited using Prolific and gambled on an online three-reel slot machine simulator that delivered a one in three rate of X-X-O near-misses. Study 1 measured trial-by-trial subjective ratings of valence and motivation (Study 1a, n = 169; Study 1b, n = 148). Study 2 (n = 170) measured spin initiation latencies as a function of the previous trial outcome. Study 3 (n = 172) measured bet size as a function of the previous trial outcome. In Study 1a, near-misses increased the motivation to continue gambling relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 1. On valence ratings, near-misses were rated significantly more positively than full-misses, in the opposite direction to Hypothesis 2; this effect was confirmed in a close replication (Study 1b). In Study 2, participants gambled faster following near-misses relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 3. In Study 3, participants significantly increased their bet size following near-misses relative to full-misses, supporting Hypothesis 4. Across all dependent variables, near-miss outcomes yielded statistically significant differences from objectively equivalent full-miss outcomes, corroborating the "near-miss effect" across both subjective and behavioral measures, and in the environment of online gambling. The unexpected findings on valence ratings are considered in terms of boundary conditions for the near-miss effect, and competing theoretical accounts based on frustration/regret, goal generalization, and skill acquisition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for The Near-Miss Effect in Online Slot Machine Gambling: A Series of Conceptual Replications

Supplemental Material for The Near-Miss Effect in Online Slot Machine Gambling: A Series of Conceptual Replications

Self-Regulatory Strategies Reduce Gambling Spend and Harm in a Randomised Controlled Trial of Electronic Gaming Machine Players

AbstractResearch provides insights into the self-regulatory strategies (SRSs) gamblers use, but evidence supporting their efficacy is weak. Study 1 aimed to identify a set of SRSs that best predict less harmful gambling amongst electronic gaming machine (EGM) players who are most vulnerable to EGM-related harm. Study 2 aimed to test their efficacy as a brief intervention in a randomised controlled trial. Study 1 surveyed 2032 EGM players and compared SRS-use amongst harmed and less-harmed players after propensity matching and weighting. Study 2 delivered 13 efficacious SRSs identified in study 1 as a brief intervention in a three-wave RCT and assessed their effect on time and money spent on EGMs and EGM-related harm. In study 1, the individual use of 17 SRSs and the total count of these SRSs used were associated with lower EGM-related harm. In study 2, assignment to three SRSs resulted in reduced EGM spend, with no detectable effects for 10 other SRSs. More frequent reported use of one of the same SRSs and an additional two SRSs also resulted in reduced EGM spend and/or reduced EGM-related harm. The results provide new evidence about the efficacy of certain SRSs to result in beneficial gambling outcomes: setting aside a fixed amount to spend, taking regular breaks, keeping leisure time busy with other activities, not gambling due to boredom, and keeping a household budget. These SRSs could be communicated as actionable strategies people can use to help reduce gambling harm.

Comparative Evaluation of Asymptotically Optimal and Standard Upper Confidence Bound Algorithms in Multi-Armed Bandit Scenarios

The Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) problem stands as a cornerstone challenge in the realm of reinforcement learning, particularly in contexts where an agent must sequentially choose actions from multiple options to maximize cumulative rewards, often analogized to pulling levers on slot machines. A plethora of algorithms have been developed and rigorously examined to tackle this issue, each aiming to enhance the process of reward collection. Nonetheless, a significant research gap persists, notably in relation to the Upper Confidence Bound algorithm (UCB). This study delves into the intricacies of UCB and its asymptotically optimal variant, focusing on their performance within a movie recommendation system context. Employing this real-world application as an illustrative example, the analysis seeks to discern the nuanced distinctions between the standard UCB and its asymptotically optimal counterpart. Through detailed exploration and comparison, insights emerge regarding the influence of different parameter values on the UCB algorithm's efficacy. This in-depth examination provides a more profound comprehension of how variations in these parameters affect the algorithm's capacity to balance exploration and exploitation, a key element in effective decision-making under uncertainty. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, the findings suggest that the asymptotically optimal UCB algorithm does not universally surpass the standard UCB algorithm in practical applications. This revelation calls for a reconsideration of the effectiveness of these algorithms, highlighting the importance of a nuanced evaluation of their performance across various scenarios.

Multi-Armed Bandit Algorithms: Analysis and Applications Across Domains

This study provides an in-depth exploration of the pivotal role of Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) Algorithms in decision-making across diverse sectors, focusing on their theoretical foundations, real-world applications, and empirical evidence. MAB Algorithms, metaphorically representing choices among various slot machine arms with different rewards, are crucial in optimizing decisions in uncertain settings by striking a balance between exploration and exploitation. It examines four principal algorithms—Greedy, Epsilon-Greedy, Upper Confidence Bound, and Thompson Sampling—each tailored for specific types of decision-making scenarios. Their applications are extensive, particularly in fields like recommendation systems, financial strategy formulation, and network security, where they enable adaptive learning and strategic optimization. In the context of the 5G era, MAB Algorithms are instrumental in effectively managing wireless network resources amidst dynamic conditions. This is further exemplified through empirical studies, such as research on decision-making under uncertainty, which demonstrate the algorithms' effectiveness in guiding choices in experimental setups. The paper highlights the growing importance and sophistication of MAB Algorithms, emphasizing their significant role in advancing human decision-making capabilities.

Post-reinforcement pauses during slot machine gambling are moderated by immersion.

The post-reinforcement pause (PRP) is an operant effect in which response latencies increase on trials following the receipt and consumption of reward. Human studies demonstrate analogous effects in electronic gambling machines that utilise random ratio reinforcement schedules. We sought to identify moderators of the human PRP effect, hypothesising that the magnitude of gamblers' PRPs is moderated by the type of reinforcing outcome (genuine wins vs. losses-disguised-as-wins [LDWs] vs. free-spin bonus features) and individuals' level of gambling immersion, a cognitive state linked to problem gambling. Experienced slot machine users (N = 53) played a real slot machine for 20 min. The dependent variable was defined as the time delay in the initiation of each bet ("Spin Initiation Latency"; SIL). Using 80% of trials, a linear model was fit regressing SIL on the independent variables (outcome type, immersion, and outcome-by-immersion interaction), and a larger group of covariates (participant ID, trial number, winnings, etc.) selected using double-robust LASSO-regularised regression. The previously unseen 20% of cases were used to validate the model. Positively reinforcing outcome types (wins, LDWs, bonus spins) showed significantly larger SILs than losses, indicating a PRP effect. Immersion did not predict response latencies, but win-by-immersion and LDW-by-immersion interactions indicated that pauses were greater among more immersed participants. The small number of free-spin bonus features showed similar trends that were not statistically significant. These results indicate that gamblers immersed in play remained sensitive to in-game reinforcement (contrary to a prevailing account), and provide guidance for researchers bridging laboratory research and real-world behaviour.

Research on the principle, performance, and application of UCB algorithm in multi arm slot machine problems

As Internet technology continues to evolve, recommender systems have become an integral part of daily life. However, traditional methods are increasingly falling short of meeting evolving user expectations. Utilizing survey data from the MovieLens dataset, a comparative approach was employed to investigate the efficacy, performance, and applicability of the UCB (Upper Confidence Bound) algorithm in addressing the multi-armed bandit problem. The study reveals that the UCB algorithm significantly impacts the cumulative regret value, indicating its robust performance in the multi-armed bandit setting. Furthermore, LinUCBan enhanced version of the UCB algorithmexhibits exceptional overall performance. The algorithm's efficiency is not just limited to the regret value but extends to handling high-dimensional feature spaces and delivering personalized recommendations. Unlike traditional UCB algorithms, LinUCB adapts more fluidly to high-dimensional environments by leveraging a linear model to simulate the reward function associated with each arm. This adaptability makes LinUCB particularly effective for complex, feature-rich recommendation scenarios. The performance of the UCB algorithm is also contingent upon parameter selection, making this an important factor to consider in practical implementations. Overall, both UCB and its modified version, LinUCB, present compelling solutions for the challenges faced by modern recommender systems.

Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment in land-based gambling: effects on online substitutes and total consumption in longitudinal sales data

BackgroundGambling causes important harms in societies. According to the public health approach, the most effective policies to reduce harms target full populations. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are among the most effective measures. However, restrictions on the availability of some gambling products or channels may also be offset by increased consumption in other products. Substitution effects can have negative public health impacts due to differing harm potential across different gambling products. This paper uses longitudinal sales data (2019–2022) from the Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus. During the observation period, the availability of gambling was restricted in Finland due to subsequent waves of Covid-19-related restrictions. In addition, the gambling monopoly introduced mandatory precommitment to land-based EGMs. We focus on how these restrictive policy changes impacted the total consumption of gambling and possible substitution effects.MethodsThe Finnish gambling monopoly provided weekly theoretical loss data per gambling product category and gambling channel (online, land-based) for the period of January 2019 – July 2022 based on a statutory obligation. We analysed the effects of availability restrictions and other public health measures on the consumption of different products using descriptive time series and regression analyses. We compared the sale of land-based products to online equivalents at product category level and included main policy change periods in the models.ResultsTotal consumption of gambling declined during 2019–2022 mainly due to reduced land-based electronic gambling machine (EGM) consumption. Declines in land-based EGM sales were not offset by online alternatives or other close substitutes in the long term. However, during the first wave of Covid-19, there was an observable substitution of land-based table games by online alternatives and land-based horse betting and possibly sports betting by online horse betting. Overall, the results also show that Covid-19 functioned as a boost to an already existing trend of increasing digitalisation of gambling.ConclusionsThe study provides empirical support for the effectiveness of public health-oriented policies in reducing the total consumption of gambling. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are therefore likely to also reduce the burden of harms of gambling to individuals and societies.

Digital Slot Machines: Social Media Platforms as Attentional Scaffolds

In this paper we introduce the concept of attentional scaffolds and show the resemblance between social media platforms and slot machines, both functioning as hostile attentional scaffolds. The first section establishes the groundwork for the concept of attentional scaffolds and draws parallels to the mechanics of slot machines, to argue that social media platforms aim to capture users’ attention to maximize engagement through a system of intermittent rewards. The second section shifts focus to the interplay between emotions and attention, revealing how online attentional capture through emotionally triggering stimuli leads to distraction. The final section elucidates the collective implications of scaffolding attention through social media platforms. The examination of phenomena such as emotional contagion and the emergence of group emotions underscores the transition from individual experiences to shared collective outcomes. Employing online moral outrage as a case study, we illustrate how negative emotions serve as scaffolds for individuals’ attention, propagate within social groups, and give rise to collective attitudes.

Solving multi-armed bandit problems using a chaotic microresonator comb

The Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) problem, foundational to reinforcement learning-based decision-making, addresses the challenge of maximizing rewards amid multiple uncertain choices. While algorithmic solutions are effective, their computational efficiency diminishes with increasing problem complexity. Photonic accelerators, leveraging temporal and spatial-temporal chaos, have emerged as promising alternatives. However, despite these advancements, current approaches either compromise computation speed or amplify system complexity. In this paper, we introduce a chaotic microresonator frequency comb (chaotic comb) to tackle the MAB problem, where each comb mode is assigned to a slot machine. Through a proof-of-concept experiment, we employ 44 comb modes to address an MAB with 44 slot machines, demonstrating performance competitive with both conventional software algorithms and other photonic methods. Furthermore, the scalability of decision making is explored with up to 512 slot machines using experimentally obtained temporal chaos in different time slots. Power-law scalability is achieved with an exponent of 0.96, outperforming conventional software-based algorithms. Moreover, we find that a numerically calculated chaotic comb accurately reproduces experimental results, paving the way for discussions on strategies to increase the number of slot machines.

The “Joy Hook,” “Weird Feedback Loops,” “Quick Hit Pieces,” and “Usefulness”

While dance has captured attention across platforms and media, remuneration is constrained by copyright issues, a devaluation of dance as a product, and racism. Media coverage of economic, labor, and crediting concerns in popular dance is a critical part of the circuit of creation, discourse, and culture-shifts in online dance. Coverage has an important role in an age of online organizing and the exposure economy, while it simultaneously extracts value from the creators being covered.

Losses disguised as wins evoke the reward positivity event-related potential in a simulated machine gambling task.

Electronic gambling machines include a suite of design characteristics that may contribute to gambling-related harms and require more careful attention of regulators and policymakers. One strategy that has contributed to these concerns is the presentation of "losses disguised as wins" (LDWs), a type of salient losing outcome in which a gambling payout is less than the amount wagered (i.e., a net loss), but is nonetheless accompanied by the celebratory audio-visual stimuli that typically accompany a genuine win. These events could thereby be mistaken for gains, or otherwise act as a reward signal, reinforcing persistent gambling, despite being a loss. This study aimed to determine whether LDWs evoke a reward positivity component in a task modeled on slot machine gambling. A prominent account of the reward positivity event-related potential suggests that it is evoked during the positive appraisal of task-related feedback, relative to neutral or negative events, or that it is evoked by neural systems that implement the computation of a positive reward prediction error. We recruited 32 individuals from university recruitment pools and asked them to engage in a simple gambling task designed to mimic key features of a slot machine design. The reward positivity was identified using temporospatial principal components analysis. Results indicated a more positive reward positivity following LDWs relative to clear losses, consistent with the theory that LDWs contribute to positive reinforcement of continued gambling, despite being net losses.

Gambling in Victoria: Changes in Participation, Problem Gambling and Gambling Environment Between 2008 and 2018

Gambling and its impacts are an important public health issue. The relationship between gambling, problem gambling and gambling harm is complex and dynamic. Replicate prevalence studies are useful for surveillance and monitoring gambling impacts within jurisdictions. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in gambling and problem gambling in the Victorian adult population between 2008 and 2018 by investigating individual gambling activities and exploring their relationship with the Victorian gambling ecosystem. Gambling participation has decreased; problem gambling prevalence has not. Investigation beyond these summary measures reveals important details: (a) Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs), casino table games, race and sports betting (‘high-risk activities’), informal private betting, and Keno, and their associations with problem gambling endure. Further, the strength of this association is unaffected by changes in product technology, delivery, or the Victorian environment in which they reside, (b) participation in high-risk activities, excluding EGMs, increased while for other activities they decreased, (c) EGMs continue to pose the greatest risk for Victorians, (d) males and young adults continue having a higher problem gambling prevalence rate and preferring both online gambling and high-risk activities (excluding racing favoured by an ageing, older cohort, and Keno, by all ages), and (e) gambling access and exposure proliferated enabling single site multiple gambling opportunities on high-risk activities. Young adults represented a new vulnerable group as they reach the legal gambling age. The most effective interventions (based on major falls in real expenditure (losses) on EGMs, the highest risk activity) were the smoking bans, removal of ATMs from venues and decreases in bet size. There is great potential for prevention, intervention, and minimising harm in the gambling environment.

The investigation and application of Muti-Armed algorithms in recommendation systems

In the contemporary Internet recommendation systems in various fields, muti-armed algorithms will show high accuracy and practicability. Internet users can always get abundant positive feedback through the recommendation system via utilizing these algorithms. In this paper, there are three most typical muti-armed algorithms as examples are provided. Explore-Then-Commit (ETC) algorithm is the first to mentioned. The physical meaning of this algorithm is that in the exploration stage, the action will be selected in a certain order, and after a certain number of rounds, the action with the largest average reward will be directly selected. Moreover, Upper Confidence Bond (UCB) algorithm is also a type of pivotal tool. The main function of UCB algorithm is to make the selection by calculating the upper bound of each arm confidence interval instead of the expected reward of the slot machine. Thus, it is an optimistic algorithm. First, select each arm in random order, then calculate the value of the upper bound of each arm confidence interval, and finally, select the arm with the largest value. The last mentioned Thompson Sampling (TS) Algorithm take Bayesian optimization as the theoretical basis. This algorithm takes out the candidate parameters, generates a random number, and selects the maximum value for input. This paper also introduced two fields related to the topic of the application of muti-armed algorithms in the recommendation systems in modern fields. News recommendation algorithms and personalized recommendation systems can be more comprehensive and representative to illustrate the practicality of these algorithms. Therefore, muti-armed algorithms reflect the importance in the recommendation fields via the balance of exploration and exploitation.

One-armed bandit problem and the mirror descent algorithm

We consider the application of the mirror descent algorithm (MDA) to the one-armed bandit problem in the minimax statement as applied to data processing. This problem is also known as the game with nature, where the player's payoff function is the mathematical expectation of the total income. The player must determine the most effective method of the two available and provide that it is predominantly used. In this case, the a priori efficiency of one of the methods is known. This article proposes a modification of the MDA that allows to improve the efficiency of control through the use of additional a priori information. The proposed strategy retains the characteristic property of strategies for one-armed bandits - if a known action is applied once, it will be applied until the end of the control. Modifications for the algorithm for one-by-one processing and for its batch version are considered. Batch processing is interesting in that the total processing time is determined by the number of batches and not the original amount of data, if it is possible to provide parallel processing of data in batches. For the proposed algorithms, using the Monte-Carlo simulation, the optimal values of the tunable parameters were calculated and the minimax risk estimates were obtained.

Offering an auto-play feature likely increases total gambling activity at online slot-machines: preliminary evidence from an interrupted time series experiment at a real-life online casino.

Auto-play is a ubiquitous feature in online casino gambling and virtual slot machines especially, allowing gamblers to initiate spin sequences of pre-set length and value. While theoretical accounts diverge on the hypothesized causal effect on gambling behavior of using the auto-play feature, observational findings show that this feature is used to a higher degree by problem and/or high-intensity gamblers, suggesting that banning this feature may constitute a global responsible gambling measure. Direct, experimental research on causal effects of offering auto-play at online casinos is however lacking. Here, we report the findings of an interrupted time series experiment, conducted at a real-life online casino in Sweden, in which the auto-play feature was made available during a pre-set duration on 40 online slot machines, with 40 matched slots serving as control. Aggregated time series on daily betted amount, spins and net losses were analyzed using a structural Bayesian framework that compared observed developments during the peri-intervention period to modeled counterfactual estimates. Results suggest that offering an auto-play feature on online casinos likely increases total gambling activity in terms of betted amount (approx.+ 7-9%) and (perhaps) number of spins (approx. +3%) but has no effect on net losses. Limitations of studying auto-play effects on a population-level, as well as the complexities of banning this feature within a complex ecosystem of non-perfect channelization to licensed providers, are discussed, including suggestions for future research.