Are casinos responsible for gambling addiction?

Some casino games, like slot machines and roulette, are more addictive than others. This is because they allow players to experience strong feelings, boosting their adrenaline levels and holding them spellbound because these games are based on chance. It is the more irrational players that are the most likely to become gambling addicts.

Everything in a casino is designed to make the player spend his money without counting. The atmosphere is welcoming, with relaxing background music. The game rooms are spacious, elegantly decorated and comfortable and well lit. There are no views on the outside to distract players’ attention. Players are confined in the room and don’t see time going by. Therefore, they spend more money than they had maybe planned to. Delivering a loyalty card to the “home players” is also a means to attract customers and let them stay as long as possible. The presence of a bar-restaurant also promotes relaxation and the well-being of the players, although the casino managers insist on the fact that the bars and restaurants are imposed by the Government as a way of boosting job creation...

Above the bars, a display shows continuously all the gains achieved since the beginning of the previous day, the current day and the month. It gives an impression of an increasing speed of the customers’ gains. In reality, the display doesn’t take into account losses: only the gross profits are recorded. This system can give the illusion to the player that gains are easy and sizeable.

Slot machines account for nearly 85% of the turnover of casinos. Managers therefore have made the seats ergonomic so that the players spend most of their time feeding coins into the machines. Some slot machines even accept banknotes, allowing the player to accumulate "Player Plus" benefits (sic) points. It is an example of the application of neuromarketing.

As for the roulette tables, they are now electronic, allowing the player to play fast and alone. On a screen, information such as "hot numbers" is put up and the player can compare his results to the results of other players. The aim of course is to push the player to try his luck one more time.

In the United States, oxygen is sprayed into the gambling halls in order to help the players keep awake or to get their breath back after a win or a loss. In France, this system is not allowed (yet), but the casinos do use various means to incite the players to keep playing.

Gaming establishments try to make gambling socially acceptable (“normal”) so that players will come back often and thus generate greater profits. The risk is making more people become gambling addicts…

Timothée BERTHAUD wants to become a neuroscientist