(Note: This isn't in regards to online slots, but B&M slots. I think there's differences between the two, namely fair opportunity for advantage play online. Whereas, there’s little opportunity to do that in B&M places. So, what I’m going to write assumes all bets have a negative expectation.)
Some years ago, I asked myself the question; “What’s going through the mind of the people around me who are playing slots. Why are they doing what they are doing and does it make sense?”
Some people might think that the reasons why people play slots are too obvious to talk about. The reasons are not explicitly stated, so it seems to me to be a genuinely interesting question.
I can come up with a short list of some of the reasons why people might play slots:
- To have fun/entertainment
- To kill some time (e.g. waiting on a meal to be served.)
- Socialize with friends
- To gamble (which can also be considered as a type of entertainment.)
Lately I’ve been playing during the day and I’ve noticed there’s a disproportionate number of grey haired people playing at that time. I’ve heard people explain this by saying that the older people are just lonely. But, I don’t see why they have to be lonely, a more fitting explanation is that the older people are doing it for entertainment purposes.
I’ve spent a lot of time in slots venues and from my experience I would say that 95%+ of the people playing are doing it to gamble. And I would differentiate gambling from other forms of entertainment in that gambling requires you to be harmed if you lose. If you don’t hurt when you lose; you’re not gambling. Kerry Packer (one of Australia’s richest men) said that and my findings are the same. You can test this yourself by playing around with relatively small amounts and it has a different feeling to when the amounts become something you start to care about.
According to that definition (which I believe is correct) not everyone playing slots is gambling. It can also be said that gambling is a state of mind.
The amount someone has to bet to get the feeling that they are gambling is relative to that person. For example; some people might feel like they are gambling with 20c bets, for others it might take $2. Kerry Packer might need to bet 2 million dollars to get the feeling that he's gambling.
My next question is: Are gamblers sensible people?
I'll leave that question with forum members. To be honest, I'm not too sure myself.
Some years ago, I asked myself the question; “What’s going through the mind of the people around me who are playing slots. Why are they doing what they are doing and does it make sense?”
Some people might think that the reasons why people play slots are too obvious to talk about. The reasons are not explicitly stated, so it seems to me to be a genuinely interesting question.
I can come up with a short list of some of the reasons why people might play slots:
- To have fun/entertainment
- To kill some time (e.g. waiting on a meal to be served.)
- Socialize with friends
- To gamble (which can also be considered as a type of entertainment.)
Lately I’ve been playing during the day and I’ve noticed there’s a disproportionate number of grey haired people playing at that time. I’ve heard people explain this by saying that the older people are just lonely. But, I don’t see why they have to be lonely, a more fitting explanation is that the older people are doing it for entertainment purposes.
I’ve spent a lot of time in slots venues and from my experience I would say that 95%+ of the people playing are doing it to gamble. And I would differentiate gambling from other forms of entertainment in that gambling requires you to be harmed if you lose. If you don’t hurt when you lose; you’re not gambling. Kerry Packer (one of Australia’s richest men) said that and my findings are the same. You can test this yourself by playing around with relatively small amounts and it has a different feeling to when the amounts become something you start to care about.
According to that definition (which I believe is correct) not everyone playing slots is gambling. It can also be said that gambling is a state of mind.
The amount someone has to bet to get the feeling that they are gambling is relative to that person. For example; some people might feel like they are gambling with 20c bets, for others it might take $2. Kerry Packer might need to bet 2 million dollars to get the feeling that he's gambling.
My next question is: Are gamblers sensible people?
I'll leave that question with forum members. To be honest, I'm not too sure myself.
