Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Limited Reduction in Electronic Gaming Machine Availability on Perceived Gambling Behaviour and Objective Expenditure

In Australia, there is evidence to suggest that there is a positive association between the geographical accessibility of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and the frequency and intensity of gambling in local areas. Evidence such as this has been used to introduce regulatory policies to reduce the geographical accessibility of EGMs through the reduction of gaming machine numbers in venues. The aim of this paper was to describe the process involved in the 15 per cent reduction in gaming machine numbers in the state of South Australia and the apparent effects on gaming revenue and gambling behaviours. Detailed analysis of objective EGM data as well as survey-based interviews with 400 regular EGM players provided only limited evidence of behavioural changes or significant reductions in gaming revenue. The paper describes the nature of industry responses to circumvent the effects of the reduction in machine numbers and the implications of these findings for future regulatory policies relating to EGM gambling.     

Problem Gambling and the Circumstances Facing Older People

Local gambling venues are an important contemporary context for older people's gambling in many parts of the world typically being more accessible to this segment of the population than traditional, centralised gambling venues, such as casinos. This study, undertaken in South East Queensland, analyses older people's electronic gaming machine (EGM) behaviour and motivations, specifically in the context of licensed social and recreational clubs-a popular local gambling venue in many parts of Australia. The study gathered data via a postal survey of 80 managers of licensed clubs, interviews with Gambling Help services and a survey of 414 people aged 60+ who regularly play EGMs, self-administered on site at local clubs. The analysis undertaken suggests that certain age-related circumstances of older people-such as being without a partner, having a disability that impacts on everyday activities, having a low annual income, and no longer participating in the workforce-are associated with higher overall levels of motivation for playing EGMs and greater reliance on EGMs to meet social, recreational and mental health needs. Over a quarter of the older people surveyed (27%) reported drawing on their savings to fund their EGM gambling. Certain categories of older people, including those who were without a partner and those with a disability, were more likely to report drawing on their savings to fund EGM play and betting more than they could afford to lose, pointing to age-related vulnerabilities older people may experience to the negative impacts of gambling given the greater likelihood of their dependency on smaller, fixed incomes. The explanatory contribution of a range of demographic and motivational variables on problem/moderate risk gambling status was computed via a logistic regression model. Younger age (60-69), male gender, single marital status and being motivated to play EGMs to experience excitement and to win money all emerged as significant predictors in the model.     

Gambling Revenues as a Public Administration Issue: Electronic Gaming Machines in Victoria

Gambling activities and the revenues derived have been seen as a way to increase economic development in deprived areas. There are also, however, concerns about the effects of gambling in general and electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in particular, on the resources available to the localities in which they are situated. This paper focuses on the factors that determine the extent and spending of community benefit-related EGM-generated resources within Victoria, Australia, focusing in particular on the relationships between EGM activity and socio-economic and social capital indicators, and how this relates to the community benefit resources generated by gaming.     

The evolving market structures of gambling: case studies modelling the socioeconomic assignment of gaming machines in Melbourne and Sydney,Australia

The expansion of gambling industries worldwide is intertwined with the growing government dependence on gambling revenue for fiscal assignments. In Australia, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) have dominated recent gambling industry growth. As EGMs have proliferated, growing recognition has emerged that EGM distribution closely reflects levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. More machines are located in less advantaged regions. This paper analyses time-series socioeconomic distributions of EGMs in Melbourne, Australia, an immature EGM market, and then compares the findings with the mature market in Sydney. Similar findings in both cities suggest that market assignment of EGMs transcends differences in historical and legislative environments. This indicates that similar underlying structures are evident in both markets. Modelling the spatial structures of gambling markets provides an opportunity to identify regions most at risk of gambling related problems. Subsequently, policies can be formulated which ensure fiscal revenue from gambling can be better targeted towards regions likely to be most afflicted by excessive gambling-related problems.     

Too close to home? The relationships between residential distance to venue and gambling outcomes

Although gambling accessibility is generally viewed as a multidimensional construct, few studies have successfully untangled the specific role of spatial accessibility in determining gambling outcomes relative to other forms (i.e. temporal, social and psychological). In this paper, we explore the association between gambling outcomes and the distance travelled from a person's home to their most-frequented gambling venue. To this end, we conducted a geocoded mail survey of 7044 households in the Northern Territory of Australia. We employed a geographic information system to calculate the network distance from each household to all visited electronic gaming machine (EGM) venues (n = 64). Multivariate regression modelling revealed that, when adjusted for individual and neighbourhood-level characteristics, frequency of venue visitation and gambling participation were inversely related to residential distance from venue. There was no additional distance effect for problem gambling. Spatial accessibility of EGMs is an important determinant of gambling risk and should be explicitly considered by regulators.     

Gendered gambling domains and changes in Sweden

Pachinko is an ‘amusement arcade’ type machine that is popular throughout Japan, with an estimated 17.1 million ‘players’ providing an enormous annual revenue of 2.87 trillion yen (US$250 billion). It is simple and easy to play and has all the hallmarks and structural features of gaming machines worldwide. While academic discourses on the addictive potential of gaming machines are well developed, their application to pachinko is very limited. This is, perhaps, due to a number of factors. First, pachinko is portrayed as a game rather than as gambling in Japan, so that addiction issues are ignored or downplayed. Second, most accounts of ‘playing’ pachinko are journalistic rather than academic. Third, academics tend to focus on police corruption and organized crime rather than addiction. Here, we take the approach that pachinko represents ‘gambling by proxy’ and explore its addictive potential. We conclude that unless pachinko is recognized as a form of gambling, present changes in Japanese legislation will be of limited value in tackling addiction.     

An empirical analysis of the use of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index in assessing the distribution of electronic gaming machines and its socio-economic implications

Sargent and Holmes (2014) proposed the use of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index in assessing the effects of the distribution of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) on expenditure and tax outcomes for local areas. This paper reports empirical analysis on the use of the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) in this application. Comparative testing of HHI and population-based measures, such as EGM density, was conducted using EGM data from the New South Wales State Government (Australia) for the period 1995 to 2005. The analysis also compares the use of the commonly used Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage, with the Index of Education and Occupation. The socio-economic elements comprising the latter index are acknowledged as being relevant to the assessment of gambling impacts. The results indicate that the use of a concentration measure such as the HHI may augment the use of existing measures in policy development and localized decision-making on distribution of gambling facilities.     

An Initial Investigation of Individual Rate-of-Play Preferences and Associations with EGM Gambling Behavior

Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) show a strong association with gambling problems. The high speed of gaming offered by modern EGMs allows playing numerous games in a short span of time, which is thought to contribute to attentional distraction, increased spending and prolonged play. However, the relationship between EGM speeds and potentially risk-related gambling behavior remains unclear. We introduce a novel approach to investigating the role of gaming speed in EGM gambling behavior by examining ‘individual rate-of-play’ (I-ROP) during simulated EGM gambling. A community sample of male regular gamblers (N = 72) played virtual slot machines in pairs offering sequentially adjusted game speeds towards the estimation of a behaviorally expressed preference speed, or I-ROP. This initial experiment aimed to explore the variability of I-ROPs during simulated EGM gambling, and examine behavior while playing EGMs at speeds relative to their I-ROP. Estimated I-ROPs ranged from less than one half second to over seven seconds and were negatively associated with cognitive ability, but not related to problem gambling severity, impulsiveness, or gambling-related cognitions. Subsequent gambling sessions on EGMs offering individually calibrated faster and slower gaming speeds were associated with greater and reduced risk-related gambling behaviors respectively. I-ROPs represent a potentially informative construct for exploring influences of gaming speed on gambling behavior, and may lend insight into potential risk-related behavior an individual vulnerability with respect to commercially available EGMs that warrants additional research.     

Risky Business: A Few Provocations on the Regulation of Electronic Gaming Machines

Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) proliferate in Australian club and hotel venues, generating revenues of billions of dollars annually and accounting for the majority of gambling expenditure. These revenues arguably rely on unsafe consumption practices, generating considerable harm. Clear evidence is available describing unsafe levels of EGM consumption by regular EGM consumers in hotels and clubs, and indicating modifications to EGM technology and systems to minimize harm. However, a comfortable orthodoxy, the discourse of ‘business as usual’, perpetuates current arrangements, sustaining in particular a model of the ‘problem’ gambler as an individualized flawed consumer. The article argues that the marketing and distribution of EGMs is neither accidental nor something for which the individual is responsible, and neither is the safeguarding of oneself from the harm produced by goods licensed by government. Pursuit of a goal of safe consumption for all EGM gamblers requires disruption of the discourse of business as usual.     

Problem gambling among female prisoners: lifetime prevalence,help-seeking behaviour and association with incarceration

The widespread introduction of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in Australia has seen problem gambling (PG) rates soar over the past decade. This has been particularly apparent among women, with presentations to gambling help services increasing fivefold, and 90% of them indicating EGMs as the problem. Prisoners represent a group containing the highest PG rate found in any population. Despite a sharp increase in PG among women and the well-established link between offenders and PG, little data exists concerning PG among female prisoners. This study examined lifetime prevalence of PG among female prisoners in South Australia. The Early Intervention Gambling Health Test was administered to 74 female prisoners. Previous help-seeking behaviour and association with incarceration were also examined. Sixty-four percent of respondents indicated PG with one in six reporting they were incarcerated due to PG-related offending. Problem gamblers whose incarceration was related to PG were more likely to indicate they had gambled to try and win money to repay debts than problem gamblers incarcerated for unrelated offending. Given high levels of PG and overall low rates of help-seeking, women’s prisons may provide an opportunity to engage this high-risk population with effective treatment.     

Understanding end-user perspectives to enhance perceived value uptake of harm-minimization tools: considering gambler’s views of a pre-commitment system

Harm-minimization strategies reduce the experience of gambling-related harms for individuals and those close to them. Most policies and particularly discussions of tool design and implementation fail to involve end users and consider their concerns and needs. This study aimed to investigate the best way to introduce a harm-minimization tool for electronic gaming machines (EGMs) that will maximize the perceived value and subsequent uptake by the intended audience of gamblers. Focus groups were conducted with 31 Australian regular EGM gamblers experiencing a range of gambling problems. Participants were asked their perspectives of a pre-commitment system (features including accessing activity statements, setting limits, viewing dynamic messages, taking breaks), including concerns, and how to enhance perceived value and usefulness. Positive attitudes about the system were expressed; however, many gamblers saw the tool as relevant only for problem gamblers. Participants indicated that value could be enhanced by making the system flexible and customizable, but still easy to use. Design and implementation strategies such as incorporating flexibility in features, ease of use, appropriate terminology, and educational efforts may address gamblers’ concerns, particularly regarding privacy and potential stigma. This would enhance user perception of harm-minimization tools as relevant and may subsequently enhance effectiveness.     

Access or adaptation? A meta-analysis of surveys of problem gambling prevalence in Australia and New Zealand with respect to concentration of electronic gaming machines

It is widely believed that greater availability of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) has led to increases in problem gambling prevalence and related harms. It has also been proposed that individuals and populations adapt to exposure over time and that prevalence rates plateau or decline, even in the face of increasing availability. This study examines both hypotheses using a combined data set of 34 problem gambling surveys conducted in Australia and New Zealand since 1991. Strong statistically meaningful relationships were found for an increase in prevalence with increasing per capita density of EGMs, consistent with the access hypothesis and supported by no evidence of plateauing of prevalence with increasing density of EGMs. A decrease in prevalence over time with availability held constant is also evident, partially consistent with adaptation. It is likely that both forces are at work simultaneously, with implications for appropriate policy responses to gambling harm minimisation.     

A profile of gaming machine players in clubs in Sydney,Australia

New South Wales, Australia, is one of the major markets in the world for machine gaming, with its 1,441 registered clubs holding the dominant share of the state's machines. This study examined machine gambling behavior amongst a random sample of 3,000 club members from six of the largest clubs in Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales. The findings identify their machine gambling preferences and participation levels, isolate significant sociodemographic and other differences between gaming machine and non-gaming machine players, measure the prevalence of probable pathological gambling associated with machine gambling, and identify certain characteristics which differ significantly between probable pathological and non-pathological machine gamblers amongst the respondents.     

Gamblers can discriminate ‘tight’ from ‘loose’ electronic gambling machines

All slot machines make money over time, but the payouts to the players can differ. ‘Loose’ machines pay out more than ‘tight’ machines. Gamblers (n = 1402) at Ontario slots venues were assessed using the Problem Gambling Severity Index. Their beliefs about slots were polled using the Informational Biases Scale. Problem gamblers were more likely than non-problem and at-risk gamblers to endorse the belief that ‘some slot machines keep me from winning because they are programmed to produce fewer wins than normal’. We then showed that after extensive play (60 hours), 9 out of 10 gamblers were able to correctly discriminate a ‘loose’ machine (98% payback) from a ‘tight’ machine (85% payback). Problem gamblers' assertions that there are ‘loose’ and ‘tight’ machines demonstrate a belief rooted in reality. The ability to distinguish ‘loose’ from ‘tight’ machines may be interpreted as a skill by players. Such skill, when overestimated, may lead to erroneous cognitions.     

An Analysis of Switching and Non-switching Slot Machine Player Behaviour

Learning theory predicts that, given the repeated choice to bet between two concurrently available slot machines, gamblers will learn to bet more money on the machine with higher expected return (payback percentage) or higher win probability per spin (volatility). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether this occurs when the two machines vary orthogonally on payback percentage and volatility. The sample comprised 52 first year psychology students (mean age = 20.3 years, 20 females, 32 males) who had played a gaming machine at least once in the previous 12 months. Participants were administered a battery of questionnaires designed to assess level of knowledge on the characteristics and operation of poker machines, frequency of poker machine play in the past 12 months, personality traits of impulsivity and capacity for cognitive reflection, and gambling beliefs. For the experimental task, participants were instructed to play on two PC-simulated electronic gaming machines (EGMs or slot machines) that differed on payback percentage and volatility, with the option of freely switching between EGMs after a practice phase. Results indicated that participants were able to easily discriminate between machines and manifested a preference to play machines offering higher payback or volatility. These findings diverged from previous findings of no preference for play on higher payback/volatility machines, potentially due to of the current study’s absence of the option to make multi-line and multi-credit bets. It was concluded that return rate parameters like payback percentage and volatility strongly influenced slot machine preference in the absence of betting options like multi-line bets, though more research is needed to determine the effects of such betting options on player distribution of money between multiple EGMs.     

Machine gaming in Sydney clubs: characteristics of the supporting resident populations

This research provided background for surveys and interviews in later stages of a 3 part project. It aimed to identify, from secondary research, sociodemographic characteristics which tend to support registered clubs and their machine gaming activities in the Sydney Statistical Division. Using multiple methods including Pearson's Product Moment correlation, Principal Components factor analysis, and stepwise regression, the study profiled Sydney populations which spend highly on gaming machines. The most important sociodemographic predictors of Sydney statistical local areas where per capita gaming machine expenditure is high are large proportions of the adult resident population who were born in Malta, Greece, Lebanon, China, Italy, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, India or the Philippines; have no vocational or tertiary qualifications; or are unemployed.     

A review of Australian classification practices for commercial video games featuring simulated gambling

This paper reviews Australian classification practices for commercial video games that contain simulated gambling. In the last decade, over 100 video games featuring gambling simulations have been classified as suitable for commercial sale to youth in Australia, with 69 of these video games rated ‘PG’ for Parental Guidance Recommended (i.e. suitable for ages 8+years) and the remaining 33 rated ‘G’ for General (i.e. suitable for all ages). A review of the literature suggests that consumer advice and warnings related to video game material are often inconsistent and/or not adequately provided. A public health approach suggests that the presence of gambling content in video games may present risks to younger players unfamiliar with how gambling operates. It is argued that there is a need for further academic debate on social responsibility issues of early childhood and adolescent exposure to, and involvement in, simulated gambling activities available in interactive gaming technologies.     

Techno economic systems and excessive consumption: a political economy of ‘pathological’ gambling

This article argues that gambling is a paradigmatic form of consumption that captures the intensified logic at the heart of late modern capitalist societies. As well as a site of intensified consumption, it claims that gambling has also become the location of what has been described as a new form of ‘social pathology’ related to excess play. Drawing on Castells' (1996) notion of techno‐economic systems, it explores the ways that intersections between technology, capital and states have generated the conditions for this situation, and critiques the unequal distribution of gambling environments that result. It argues that, while the products of these systems are consumed on a global scale, the risks associated with them tend to be articulated in bio‐psychological discourses of ‘pathology’ which are typical of certain types of knowledge that have salience in neo‐liberal societies, and which work to conceal wider structural relationships. We argue that a deeper understanding of the political and cultural economy of gambling environments is necessary, and provide a synoptic overview of the conditions upon which gambling expansion is based. This perspective highlights parallels with the wider global economy of finance capital, as well as the significance of intensified consumption, of which gambling is an exemplary instance. It also reveals the existence of a geo‐political dispersal of ‘harms’, conceived as deteriorations of financial, temporal and social relationships, which disproportionately affect vulnerable social groups. From this, we urge an understanding of commercial gambling based on a critique of the wider social body of gambling environments within techno economic systems, rather than the (flawed) individual bodies within them.     

Profiling Lady Luck: An Empirical Study of Gambling and Problem Gambling Amongst Female Club Members

This paper helps to address a deficiency of gender-specific research into gambling. It focuses on gambling participation, gaming machine play, and problem gambling amongst 1,257 female respondents to a telephone survey of 3,000 members selected randomly from the membership lists of six of the largest clubs in Sydney, Australia. Using predominantly non-parametric tests, results identify a range of behaviors that characterize the gambling activities of female club members when compared to their male counterparts. Testing four hypotheses revealed that, when compared to male club members, the females had a higher preference for bingo, lotto, lotteries, pools, and gaming machines; they gambled less frequently on off-course and on-course betting, casino table games and hotel gaming machines, but more frequently on bingo; they were more likely to display patterns of gaming machine play that maximize playing time; and they experienced problem gambling at levels comparable to males. Further research questions arising from the study's findings are discussed.