Poker machines are the most popular form of gambling across Australia. Millions of dollars are spent every year on these exciting games, but their appeal remains a mystery to many researchers. In order to discover more about the psyche's of those who play pokies, researchers have set out to pick out the environment factors that may be at play.
A recent study, titled 'The impact of an audience and venue size on poker machine gambling', was published in 2010 with the goal of discovering how a venue effects a poker machine player's behaviour. This ground-breaking study was funded by the Community Support Fund in order to take action against problem gambling. The goal of the research was to determine how gambling behaviour can be influenced by the size of a particular gambling venue and the other patrons within in.
The study found that the presence of more individuals results in more intense gambling behaviour. This meant that the speed of their betting increased. Overall, a busier gambling environment increases the speed at which a player spends their money on poker machines, which contributes to greater gambling losses in the long run.
The study's researchers provide a reason for this. With poker machines, wins are broadcast via lights and sounds, so players nearby are always aware when others are hitting jackpots and winning cash prizes. These indications send out signals that suggest more wins are in store for the player. The busier a casino is, the more lights and sounds go off and the researchers assume that this encourages players to wager more intensely.
Another issue the study looked at was the effect of onlookers. This took into consideration individuals who were not gambling around the subject; rather, they were simply observing. This type of company proved to have no impact on the gambling behaviour of poker machine players. This type of audience may decrease the number of losses in the long run, as players are likely to make smaller wagers in order to appear that they have more money.
Gambling addiction also seemed to play a role in the study. Those participants who admitted to having gambling problems played in a passive style, betting smaller amounts when in the presences of others. However, they would not quit after accumulating significant losses. Those without prior gambling problems bet in a more aggressive style in the presence of others; however, they quit early in order to avoid large losses.
The results of these studies indicate that larger gambling venues are a cause of increase losses for poker machine players. In summary, the broadcasting of wins and the presence of other players unconsciously effect the behaviour of those who sit down to play pokies at gambling venues.
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