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Hyoun S. (Andrew) Kim
1) The document discusses the good, bad, and ugly aspects of social casino gaming. Studies show social casino games can potentially increase gambling behaviors through normalization and perception of skill, but may also decrease urges to gamble for some and promote reverse migration away from gambling. 2) Micro-transactions within social casino games are a strong predictor of migration to real-money gambling. However, social casino games may also provide benefits like reducing urges to gamble through skill-building and social motives. 3) While social casino games influence on gambling is complex, their widespread use by youth and potential to promote problematic behaviors raise regulatory questions around age verification and monetization techniques within the games.
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Hyoun S. (Andrew) Kim
- 1. The Good, theBad and the Ugly of Social Casino Gaming Hyoun S. (Andrew) Kim 2017 New Horizons Conference February 21st, 2017
- 2. Disclosure of PotentialConflict of Interest 1 This research was funded in part by a grant from the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre. In addition, my research has been funded by the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, Gambling Research and Exchange Ontario and the National Center on Responsible Gaming.
- 3. Acknowledgement 2 Dr. Michael Wohl– Carleton University Samantha Hollingshead – Carleton University Melissa Salmon – Carleton University Dr. Rina Gupta – Queen’s University Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky – McGill University Gambling Research Exchange Ontario
- 4. Outline 3 • Social CasinoGames (SCGs) • The Bad • The Good • The Ugly • Future Directions • Implications
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- 9. 8 Gambling Games onFacebook
- 10. Social Networking bythe Numbers
- 11. Social Networking bythe Numbers
- 12. Social Networking bythe Numbers
- 13. Social Networking bythe Numbers
- 14. 13 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Texas Hold EmSlotomania Double Down NumberofUsersinMillions Popularity of Social Casino Games Monthly Weekly Daily Gambling Games on Facebook
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- 16. Social Casino Games 15 •Social Casino Games are defined as games found on social networking sites where the core gameplay is the simulation of gambling activities. Gainsbury, Hing, Delfabbro, & King, IGS
- 17. Social Casino Games 16 •Operate on a freemium model. • No-real money wagered, players cannot ‘cash out’** Gainsbury, Hing, Delfabbro, & King, IGS
- 18. Social Casino Games 17 •Operate on a freemium model. • No-real money wagered, players cannot ‘cash out’** • Can be played on multiple platforms (pcs, phones, tablets) SuperData, 2016
- 19. Structural Characteristics ofSocial Casino Games 18 • Look and sound like gambling (Bramley & Gainsbury, 2015)
- 20. Structural Characteristics ofSocial Casino Games 19 • Look and sound like gambling (Bramley & Gainsbury, 2015) • Algorithms are not based on mathematics • Dynamic Game Balancing (Rose, 2014)
- 22. 21 500 Million purchaseof Merged with 90 Million purchase of
- 23. At Issue 22 • Possiblelink between social casino games - gambling • Does social casino games increase future gambling behaviour? • If so, should they be regulated? • More nuanced examination of social casino games on gambling might be needed. • The Bad • The Ugly • The Good
- 24. Migration 23 Social Casino GamingOnline Gambling
- 25. Social Casino Gaming– Gambling Link 24 • Social casino gaming associated with gambling and gambling problems (Gainsbury, Russell, & Hing, 2014). • 13% of gamblers engage in social casino games(Gainsbury et al., 2014). • 68% interested in gambling activities (SuperData 2013). SuperData, 2016
- 26. STUDY 1: PLAYFOR FUN – PAY TO PLAY FOCUS GROUPS 25 Social Casino Gaming Online Gambling Kim, Wohl, Gupta, & Derevensky, JBA; Kim, Gupta, Wohl, & Derevensky, in prep
- 27. Method and Participants 26 Methods:Six Focus groups with social media users (3) and online gamblers (3) Participants: 51 University students - 30 social media users - 21 online gamblers Focus Groups: - Licensed clinical psychologist - 60-75 minutes
- 28. Results 27 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 Social Media Users SocialMedia Users: Frequency counts of statements reflected within each theme category
- 29. Results 28 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Online Gamblers Online Gamblers:Frequency counts of statements reflected within each theme category
- 30. TRAINING GROUND 29 Social CasinoGaming Online Gambling
- 31. 30 “Facebook is justa place to learn. To learn how to gamble. My friends started playing on Facebook to learn and now they are playing on Poker Stars. It starts on Facebook” “ … it’s a natural progression to start from social casino games: train, learn… then you realize you are not learning enough because people are not taking the game seriously, and then you move onto paying”
- 32. PERCEPTION OF SKILL 31 SocialCasino Gaming Online Gambling
- 33. 32 “If you canplay for free then you want to try it and if you discover that you are good at it then why not just put some money and you might win for real” “ Once you play for fun, they sort of get people into the gambling, you think okay, this would be great if were real money, so you try”
- 34. MIGRATION 33 Social Casino GamingOnline Gambling
- 35. 34 “ It dependson the person. Some people are more competitive and are more likely to want to step it up, but some people are just happy playing for fun” “You start playing poker with friends and like you move from that step onto other things. I don’t think you go from Facebook to gambling. I don’t see that as a gateway at all”
- 36. 35 “I didn’t understandhow I got from one place to another place, from playing for fun to being in trouble”
- 37. STUDY 2: PLAYFOR FUN – PAY TO PLAY LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT 36 Social Casino Gaming Online Gambling Kim, Wohl, Salmon, Gupta, & Derevensky, JoGS
- 38. Why Might MigrationOccur? • Normalization 37
- 39. Why Might MigrationOccur? 38
- 40. Why Might MigrationOccur? 39 SuperData, 2016
- 41. Why Might MigrationOccur? • Normalization • Distorted perception of skill/odds • Enhancement • Micro-transactions 40Griffiths, WOG; Sevigny, Cloutier, Pelletier, & Ladouceur, CiHB
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- 47. Method and Participants 46 Method:Longitudinal (six month). Participants: 409 community social casino gamers who have never gambled online (recruited via Mturk). Predictors: - Time spent - Skill building - Enhancement - Microtransactions
- 48. 26 73 Participants who migratedto Online Gambling (Six-months) Gambled Online Did Not Gamble Online 47
- 49. Descriptive Characteristic 48 Gender: 17males, 9 female. Ethnicity: 25 Caucasian, 1 South Asian (India). Employment: 20 full-time, 4 part-time, 2 unemployed. Marital Status: 15 in a relationship, 10 single. Gambled: 19 yes, 6 no.
- 50. 49 1.16 1.01 0.69 8.16* 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TimeSpentSkill-building Enhancement Micro-transactions OddsRatio Predictors Predictors of Migration Odds Ratio *p< .01
- 51. Who makes micro-transactions? 50Kim,Hollingshead, & Wohl, in press
- 52. 51 130 58 49 27 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Extend Play AccessMore Features Chasing Speed up Play NumberofParticipants Motivations Why SCG Users Engage in Micro-Transactions
- 53. 52Gainsbury, Russell, King,Delfabbro, & Hing, 2016 101 420 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 Gambled Not Gambled Influence of SCGs on Gambling
- 54. 53Gainsbury, Russell, King,Delfabbro, & Hing, 2016 44.5 9.9 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 % Increased % Decreased Influence of SCGs on Gambling
- 55. STUDY 3: BRIGHTSIDE OF SOCIAL CASINO GAMES 54Hollingshead, Kim, Wohl, & Derevensky, JGI
- 56. BRIGHT SIDE OFSOCIAL CASINO GAMES 55 • Reverse migration • Positive impacts (e.g., lessened urge to gamble) (Gainsbury et al., 2015)
- 57. Participants and Methods 56 Method:Cross-sectional (self-report) Participants: 271 gamblers (who also engaged in social casino games), were recruited from Mturk Problem Gambling: 140 moderate/disordered gamblers Measures: - Motives (adapted from Stewart & Zack, 2008) - Skill building - Urge reduction - Changes in gambling behaviour
- 58. Results 57 • Coping:, β= .03, t(127) = .38, p = .70. • Enhancement: β = -.03, t(127) = -.31, p = .76. • Social: β = .29, t(127) = 3.32, p = .001. • Skill-Building: β = .28, t(127) = 3.35, p = .001 • Urge Reduction: β = -.41, t(127) = -5.01, p < .001.
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- 60. The Ugly 59 • Migrationto gambling is not synonymous with harms • Does SCG lead to Disordered Gambling Behaviours? • SCG and Video Game Addiction
- 61. 60 78 56 52 27 47 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Mood ReliefLoss of Control Preoccupation Withdrawal Harms NumberofParticipants Symptoms Problematic SCG Use
- 62. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTUREDIRECTIONS 61
- 63. Conclusion 62 • Social casinogames influence on gambling is not straight forward. • Social casino games may increase or decrease gambling. Micro-transactions Skill building Social motives Urge Reduction
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- 67. Implications • Regulation? • AgeVerification? 300,000 youths aged 11-16 reported engaging in social casino games in the past week (Parke, Parke, Rigby, & Wardle, 2013) • Micro-transactions 66
- 68. The Good, theBad and the Ugly of Social Casino Gaming Hyoun S. (Andrew) Kim 2017 New Horizons Conference February 21st, 2017
Editor's Notes
- #7 One recent technological advance that has had a tremendous
- #9 In addition to being able to stay in touch with friends, Facebook now allows you to play a plethora of games either on the computer or via connected to FB via your mobile device. These games have become immensely popular. For example, Candy Crush saga, and clash of clans currently boasts 10 million daily active users.
- #10 In addition to the above games, you can now have a buffet menu of casino games that can be played on Social Networking Sites, called social casino games. While not as popular as their non-gambling counterparts, these simulated gambles games boasts an impressive number of users.
- #11 A Social Life | Award Winning Short Film | Social Media Depression
- #12 A Social Life | Award Winning Short Film | Social Media Depression
- #13 A Social Life | Award Winning Short Film | Social Media Depression
- #14 A Social Life | Award Winning Short Film | Social Media Depression
- #19 In freemium models, no money is required to download the game or to initiate play. Although gaming operators provide players with free credits that are reloaded periodically, players are given the opportunity (and actively encouraged) to purchase additional credits to continue play or engage in higher stakes bets.
- #20 Unknown whether social casino gamers are gamblers who engage in both types of activities or whether social casino games lead to engagement of gambling.
- #21 Unknown whether social casino gamers are gamblers who engage in both types of activities or whether social casino games lead to engagement of gambling.
- #22 These micro-transactions are a significant contributor to the estimated $3.5 billion in revenue generated by social casino games in 2015, revenues that are expected to jump to $4.4 billion in 2017 (Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, 2016).
- #23 As a result of these partnerships, the social casino version and their casino counterparts look identical. In other words, the line between social casino gaming and online gambling has become blurred. Indeed, some players have commented that it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between when they are playing social casino games and when they are engaging in gambling (Parke et al., 2013). Furthermore, casino operators often imbed links directly on the social casino games. Thus, moving from play for free to pay to play is literally a simple click away. In fact, Caesars and IGT, two of the biggest gambling operators now control 1/3rd of the entire social casino gaming market. Their aim? To convert the millions of gamers, into gamblers.
- #24 Given the convergence of social casino games and gambling, researchers, regulators and policy makers have expressed concern about social casino games. At the heart of the issue is the possible link between social casino games. Simply put, does engaging in social casino games increased the risk of problematic gambling? There are some evidence to suggest a possible link, for example, a study in the UK found that in their sample, over half of gamblers in treatment reported that social casino games were their first exposure to gambling games.
- #25 Concerns:
- #26 Unknown whether social casino gamers are gamblers who engage in both types of activities or whether social casino games lead to engagement of gambling.
- #28 This study was part of a larger research program to understand young adults perception of social media sites, online gambling and social casino gamers.
- #29 More than half 16/30 played social casino games.
- #30 19 themes. 62% of played social casino games.
- #37 Embed Video Here!
- #49 Embed Video Here!
- #51 Pattern of results remained same when controlling for previous gambling experience. Limitations: did not assess current gambling behavior, don’t know what happened after they migrated Did not assess reasons for migration.
- #52 It is possible that individuals who play social casino games are already interested in gambling. Given a demonstrated interest in gambling themes, social casino game users may be targeted with advertisements and promotional offers from gambling sites or directly encouraged to migrate to a gambling site based on their use of social casino games.
- #53 reward sensitivity predicted making micro-transactions to win back lost credits As such, the free credits provided to the social casino gamer by the social casino gaming operators may be a reward in their own right. Interestingly, problem gambling severity did not predict making micro-transactions to chase back lost credits. This lack of an effect may suggest that problem gamblers turn to gambling activities once they have exhausted their initial seed credits on social casino games
- #54 521 of these adults Those who said it increased gambling were male, younger.
- #55 Suggests that SCGs may have the potential to regulate gambling behaviors.
- #57 Anedoctal evidence. Gainsbury studies 14% of adults, and 24% of adolsecents. Positive impacts, play these games without spending money. Lessend urge to gamble.
- #58 Talk about hypothesis here.
- #59 Talk about potential reasons for why it increased or decreased (see JGI manuscript).
- #61 People can and do gamble at safe levels, the really important question here is to what degree and extent do SCGs influence the development of DGs. Are people who are exposed to SCGs proportionately more likely to develop DG than those who are not exposed? Sally,
- #62 Mood Relief: Used SCGs to escape from problems or to relieve negative moods Loss of control: Unscessful efforts to cut down Preoccupation: frequent thoughts or strong urges
- #68 Unknown whether social casino gamers are gamblers who engage in both types of activities or whether social casino games lead to engagement of gambling.