In this web video, Stanford Neurology Professor Robert Sapolsky discusses how dopamine affects human behavior: the anticipation of a particular reward is more important than actually getting the reward. He singles out Las Vegas as a place where human beings are manipulated to believe they can win money, even though they have a slim chance of doing so. It is a great explanation about dopamine and how, why, and when our levels rise. Casinos and lotteries design their experience to blatantly exploit these traits.
Fraud
By Misleading Players, Slot Machine Design Spurs Problem Gambling
This article explains how reel electronic gambling machines (EGMs) have been designed to mislead players and have directly contributed to the high rate of problem gambling: “Unbalanced reel design must be a major factor, if not the major factor, in the maintenance of problem gambling principally because the gambler unconsciously believes he or she cannot lose.” Unlike table games, EGMs offer widely different odds of winning, which the authors compare to loaded dice or rigged carnival games. “The fact that the players do not know the rules makes the reel gambling machine unique amongst gaming devices. Not only are the players ignorant of the rules but the rules vary from machine to machine and neither the gaming industry nor the regulators disclose them. As far as transparency is concerned, the standards applicable to reel gaming machines are totally out of step with all other forms of gaming.” The authors make a strong case for establishing uniform standards, banning biased, “virtually-mapped” reels on EGMs and providing more transparency regarding the player’s chances of winning.
Australia Attempting to End Electronic Gambling Machine Tricks
Australia Senator Nick Xenophon is trying to stop certain features of electronic gambling machines (or “pokies” as they are known in that country) that trick players into thinking they have won, when they really have lost. Senator Xenophon is also requesting that the industry release machine probability accounting reports.
Problem Gamblers Can’t Judge the Cost of Electronic Gambling Machines
According to the Australian Productivity Commission, people often underestimate how much people spend on various items, like transportation, clothing, etc. “For gambling, if we say we have spent $100, on average we have really spent $735. Then there are the pokies [electronic gambling machines]. On average, if pokie players say they have spent $100, they have actually spent $3448. That’s not a misprint: they are apparently aware of just 2.9 per cent of what they are losing.” Would receipts or a record of spending help people become more aware of how much they spend? Absolutely.
Problem Gamblers Can’t Judge Cost of Electronic Gambling Machines
Poker Bots and Cheaters Make Online Gambling Even More Predatory
In the summer of 2010, one the world’s leading online predatory gambling companies, PokerStars, refunded $2.1 million to its customers after discovering cheaters colluded to rig games. In another incident, PokerStars paid out another $80,000 to players who had unwittingly been up against poker “bots” – automatic card playing software. These bots are causing people to lose even more money than normal. Click on this link to the story and the podcast from BBC Radio 5. You will need to scroll halfway down the page to obtain the podcast.
New York’s Latest Way of Enticing its Citizens to Lose Money
The latest ad campaign for the New York Lottery consists of the slogan: “Be Ready.” According the New York Times article below, the message of the campaign is that “anyone who plays the instant games…ought to be prepared to win immediately in a moment of instant gratification.”
Poker Bots Invade Online Gambling
The online gambling world is faced with a menace: poker bots. These are robots that have been programmed to play poker and beat the odds – and people are racking up debt because of them.
Wynn: “The Only Way to Win in a Casino is to Own One”
Casino owner Steve Wynn admits in the transcripts of this TV interview on The Charlie Rose Show that he has never seen a gambler step back, take his winnings and leave. Yet predatory gambling interests claim that to win and leave is ‘normal / recreational / responsible’… Steve Wynn admits on national television it never happens.
Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation
In the 2008 Canadian Supreme Court Case, Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation, Inc., the plaintiffs argued that video lottery terminals (VLT’s, or video slot machines) are designed to be “inherently deceptive, inherently addictive, and inherently dangerous, when used as intended, without any information or warning.” The plaintiffs’ daughter in this case, Susan Piercey, “lost her life due to the deceptions designed into VLT games, which led to addiction and suicide.” They made the case that the Atlantic Lotto Corporation (ALC) violated the Trade Practices Act, which had originally been put in place to protect consumers from unfair trade practices. The plaintiffs went on to say that “in modern government, government through agencies and corporations are interfering more and more with the consumer and, as such, it makes sense to have the governments responsible for their own actions or actions of its agents.” The justice presiding over this case, however, determined that because the ALC is an agent of the Canadian government, they are not bound by the restrictions of the Trade Practices Act.
Below is the decision of the case and a press release from the attorneys representing the Piercey estate.
Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation
Press Release – Piercey Estate v. Atlantic Lotto Corporation
Misrepresented Game Outcomes and Problem Gambling
This research by Prof. Kevin A. Harrigan at the University of Waterloo looked at how slot players’ perceptions were influenced by a technique that has been used since 1983 in North America, called “clustering.” By observing the player perceptions (the frustration effect, the perception of early wins, illusion of control, biased evaluation of outcomes, entrapment, and irrational thinking) as well as looking at transcripts from Nevada hearings where proponents were aware of the psychological effect on players from near misses and virtual reels, the researchers raise concerns over the connection with misrepresented game outcomes and problem gambling.
Slot Machines – Pursuing Responsible Gambling Practices for Virtual Reels and Near Misses