Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Environments: Market Segments and Risk

Area of Science:

• Behavioral economics
• Psychology of gambling
• Marketing research

Background:

• Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are a significant focus in gambling research due to their potential for harm.
• Understanding environmental factors influencing EGM play is crucial for harm reduction strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how different environmental features of EGMs influence gambler attraction.
• To identify distinct market segments of EGM gamblers based on their preferences for environmental elements.
• To determine which gambling environments are associated with safer play.

Main Methods:

• A discrete choice experiment was conducted via an online survey using a dataset of 245 EGM gamblers from Victoria, Australia, and 7516 from a national online panel.
• Participants made choices among hypothetical gambling environments with varying features (e.g., sounds, location).
• K-means clustering was used to identify four distinct market segments based on individual-level utilities for environmental features.

Main Results:

• Four gambler segments were identified: Social, Value, High Roller, and Internet.
• Environments designed for the Social and Value segments attracted players with fewer gambling problems.
• Environments appealing to the High Roller and Internet segments were more attractive to players with existing gambling problems and vulnerabilities.

Conclusions:

• Gambling environments can be tailored to specific player segments, potentially influencing play behavior.
• Environments oriented towards 'Social' and 'Value' play appear more aligned with safer gambling practices.
• The findings offer insights for designing EGM environments that may mitigate gambling-related harm.