“Addiction by Design from Slot Machines to Internet Gambling” - Dr. Natasha Schull, April 29, 2023

Описание: 00:00 Session 10 of the National Conference to Stop Predatory Gambling, Dr. Natasha Schull demonstrates how the gambling industry designs its products to intentionally addict its clients.
01:22 Les Bernal introduces Dr. Natasha Schull
02:32 Dr. Schull reviews her research on slot machines because those learnings carryover to online gambling
03:20 Games played on slot machines and now on the cell phone are misperceived as light forms of gambling
04:55 Screen-based digital forms of gambling have proven themselves to be the most absorbing and potent forms of gambling
05:25 Does the problem with gambling addiction center around the device or the person?
06:00 Addiction is fundamentally a relational condition requiring the interaction between an object or an activity and a person. It is a question of "between."
06:30 Currently, research on addiction focuses on the person in part because no substance is being injected. Also, the industry strategically drives funding toward focusing on the individual and not their products and practices.
08:05 Terms for slot machines: "crack cocaine of gambling," "electronic morphine," etc.
08:30 Repeat players of slot machines are 3-4 times faster to become addicted compared to other traditional forms of gambling
09:00 Particular addictiveness of the modern slot machine is because: 1) they are solitary screen-based, 2. they give rapid feedback, and 3. they provide continuous wagering without an ending point.
09:35 The Zone: a dissociative, trance-like state where the gambler is so focused on this loop of a dark flow of the game to where everything else fades away.,
10:49 People who use slot machines are not trying to get something for nothing. They are trying to get nothingness itself.
11:41 Our best customers are not interested in entertainment. They want to be totally absorbed and get into a rhythm.
11:48 "Time on Device," "TOD," "Time on Site," and "Time on App" are terms used as goals toward profit. The key is to "reduce friction."
13:33 You do not want to restore the gambler's cognitive state to where they can make rational decisions.
15:10 Examples of design forms to "reduce friction."
16:15 The algorithms (the math) is what will make them stay (Rewards and reinforcement schedules)
17:35 "Skinner Boxes" and video of B. F. Skinner
20:20 Multiline Video Slots
22:04 Forty coins in, thirty back. Fifty coins in, twelve back, giving the signals that the gambler has won. "False wins" and "loses disguised as wins!"
22:45 Transition and carryover from slot machines to online betting
23:48 Interactive sports broadcasts will be like having a slot machine at home
24:39 "America Rolls the Dice with Online Gambling" - Bloomberg Media, December 2022
28:35 It's not just dangerous! It is naturally compelling!
30:10 Slot machines were aging out. Online gambling enabled the gambling industry to reach a younger clientele
31:17 A person living within 50 miles of a casino is more likely to develop a gambling problem. The cell phone is within 5 inches (less if the phone is within the pocket)
32:09 With the rollout of sports betting, there is a huge spike in calls to state addiction hotlines. The calls are skewing to a younger population
34:05 Where is the problem? How do we regulate this product? There needs to be some kind of limiting factor. She lists some suggestions to create a healthy line of friction.
36:57 What are some restrictions that can make online betting safer?
39:56 Does the gambling industry do research on coming up with these design tactics?
43:07 Thoughts about the "Responsible Gambling" PR and marketing techniques?