Abstract
Although electronic gaming machine (EGM) jackpots are widespread, little research has yet considered the impact of this feature on gamblers’ behaviour. We present the results of an in-venue shadowing study, which provided measures of player investment and persistence (e.g. number of spins, time-on-machine) from participants undertaking one or more EGM sessions on their choice of machines. 234 participants (162 female) were recruited in-venue, with half (stratified by age and gender) primed by answering questions encouraging ’big-win’ oriented ideation. Primed participants were more likely to select jackpot-oriented EGMs, and primed at-risk [Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) > 4] gamblers tended to select machines with a higher median jackpot prize amount than others (\(W=\hbox {18,423}, p=0.003\)). Neither PGSI nor priming was associated with the rate at which participants switched machines. EGM jackpots were associated with great spend overall, and PGSI score was associated with a greater spend per play. Positive interactions were found between jackpots and PGSI, and PGSI and priming in terms of predicting greater persistence. Finally a structural model of session level variables is presented, that incorporates positive feedback between money won and number of plays in an EGM session.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aasved, M. J., & Schaefer, J. M. (1995). Minnesota slots: An observational study of pull tab gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 11(3), 311–341. doi:10.1007/BF02104796.
Ariyabuddhiphongs, V. (2011). Lottery gambling: A review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(1), 15–33. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9194-0.
Bates, D. (2005). Fitting linear mixed models in R. R News, 5(1), 27–30.
Browne, M. W., & Arminger, G. (1995). Specification and estimation of mean and covariance-structure models. In G. Arminger, C. C. Clogg, & M. E. Sobel (Eds.), Handbook of statistical modeling for the social and behavioral sciences (pp. 185–249). Boston, MA: Springer.
Croson, R., & Sundali, J. (2005). The gambler’s fallacy and the hot hand: Empirical data from casinos. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 30(3), 195–209.
Currie, S. R., Hodgins, D. C., & Casey, D. M. (2013). Validity of the Problem Gambling Severity Index interpretive categories. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29(2), 311–327. doi:10.1007/s10899-012-9300-6.
Currie, S. R., Hodgins, D. C., Wang, J., el-Guebaly, N., Wynne, H., & Chen, S. (2006). Risk of Harm among Gamblers in the general population as a function of level of participation in gambling activities. Addiction, 101(4), 570–580. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01392.x.
Currie, S. R., Hodgins, D. C., Wang, J., el-Guebaly, N., Wynne, H., & Miller, N. (2008). Replication of low-risk gambling limits using Canadian provincial gambling prevalence data. Journal of Gambling Studies, 24(3), 321–335. doi:10.1007/s10899-008-9091-y.
Delfabbro, P., King, D. L., & Griffiths, M. (2012). Behavioural profiling of problem gamblers: A summary and review. International Gambling Studies, 12(3), 349–366. doi:10.1080/14459795.2012.678274.
Dowling, N., Smith, D., & Thomas, T. (2005). Electronic gaming machines: Are they the ‘crack-cocaine’ of gambling? Addiction, 100(1), 33–45.
Garrett, T. A., & Sobel, R. S. (1999). Gamblers favor skewness, not risk: Further evidence from United States lottery games. Economics Letters, 63(1), 85–90.
Griffiths, M. (1991). The observational study of adolescent gambling in UK amusement arcades. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 1, 309–320.
Griffiths, M., & Wood, R. (2001). The psychology of lottery gambling. International Gambling Studies, 1(1), 27–45. doi:10.1080/14459800108732286.
Harrigan, K. A., & Dixon, M. (2010). Government sanctioned tight and loose slot machines: How having multiple versions of the same slot machine game may impact problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(1), 159–174. doi:10.1007/s10899-009-9154-8.
Haruvy, E., Erev, L., & Sonsino, D. (2001). The medium prizes paradox: Evidence from a simulated casino. The Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 22(3), 251–261.
Hodgins, D. C., Schopflocher, D. P., Martin, C. R., el-Guebaly, N., Casey, D. M., Currie, S. R., et al. (2012). Disordered gambling among higher-frequency gamblers: Who is at risk? Psychological Medicine, 42(11), 2433–2444. doi:10.1017/S0033291712000724.
Joukhador, J., Maccallum, F., & Blaszczynski, A. (2003). Differences in cognitive distortions between problem and social gamblers. Psychological Reports, 92(3c), 1203–1214.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263. doi:10.2307/1914185.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.
Korn, D., Gibbins, R., & Azmier, J. (2003). Framing public policy towards a public health paradigm for gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 19(2), 235–256. doi:10.1023/A:1023685416816.
Korn, D. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (1999). Gambling and the health of the public: Adopting a public health perspective. Journal of Gambling Studies, 15(4), 289–365.
Livingstone, C., Woolley, R., Zazryn, T., Bakacs, L., & Shami, R. (2008). The relevance and role of gaming machine games and game features on the play of problem gamblers. Report prepared for the Independent Gambling Authority, South Australia. Retrieved from http://arrow.monash.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/monash:38545.
Marfels, C. (2001). Is gambling rational? The utility aspect of gambling. Gaming Law Review, 5(5), 459–466. doi:10.1089/109218801753204423.
Narayanan, A. (2012). A review of eight software packages for structural equation modeling. The American Statistician, 66(2), 129–138. doi:10.1080/00031305.2012.708641.
Parke, A., & Griffiths, M. (2004). Aggressive behaviour in slot machine gamblers: A preliminary observational study. Psychological Reports, 95(1), 109–114.
Productivity Commission. (2010). Gambling (vol. 2). Government of Australia: Productivity Commission.
Quinlan, E. (2008). Conspicuous invisibility: Shadowing as a data collection strategy. Qualitative Inquiry, 14, 1480–1499.
Rockloff, M., & Dyer, V. (2007). An experiment on the social facilitation of gambling behavior. Journal of Gambling Studies, 23(1), 1–12. doi:10.1007/s10899-006-9042-4.
Rockloff, M. J., Greer, N., Fay, C., & Evans, L. G. (2011). Gambling on electronic gaming machines is an escape from negative self reflection. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(1), 63–72. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9176-2.
Rockloff, M. J., & Hing, N. (2013). The impact of jackpots on EGM gambling behavior: A review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29(4), 775–790. doi:10.1007/s10899-012-9336-7.
Rogers, P. (1998). The cognitive psychology of lottery gambling: A theoretical review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14(2), 111–134. doi:10.1023/A:1023042708217.
Rosseel, Y. (2012). Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, 48(2), 1–36.
Schottler Consulting. (2010). Factors that influence gambler adherence to pre-commitment decisions. Retrieved from http://www.gamblingresearch.org.au/home/research/gra+research+reports/factors+that+influence+a+gambler+pre-commitment+decisions+2010.
Sharp, C., Steinberg, L., Yaroslavsky, I., Hofmeyr, A., Dellis, A., Ross, D., et al. (2012). An item response theory analysis of the Problem Gambling Severity Index. Assessment, 19(2), 167–175. doi:10.1177/1073191111418296.
Sharpe, L. (2004). Patterns of autonomic arousal in imaginal situations of winning and losing in problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 20(1), 95–104. doi:10.1023/b:jogs.0000016706.96540.43.
Thaler, R. H. (1999). Mental accounting matters. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12(3), 183–206.
Thomas, A. C., Sullivan, G. B., & Allen, F. C. L. (2009). A theoretical model of EGM problem gambling: More than a cognitive escape. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 7(1), 97–107. doi:10.1007/s11469-008-9152-6.
Turner, N. E., & Ferentzy, P. L. (2010). The natural life history of a lottery: The importance of large wins in the establishment and survival of a lottery. International Gambling Studies, 10(1), 19–30. doi:10.1080/14459790903437492.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453–458. doi:10.1126/science.7455683.
Von Neumann, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1953). Theory of games and economic behavior (3d ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Vrieze, S. I. (2012). Model selection and psychological theory: A discussion of the differences between the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Psychological Methods, 17(2), 228–243. doi:10.1037/a0027127.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was provided by Gambling Research Australia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Browne, M., Langham, E., Rockloff, M.J. et al. EGM Jackpots and Player Behaviour: An In-venue Shadowing Study. J Gambl Stud 31, 1695–1714 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9485-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9485-y