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Anxiety is characterized by altered responses under uncertain conditions, but the precise mechanism by which uncertainty changes the behaviour of anxious individuals is unclear. Here we probe the computational basis of learning under uncertainty in healthy individuals and individuals suffering from a mix of mood and anxiety disorders. Participants were asked to choose between four competing slot machines with fluctuating reward and punishment outcomes during safety and stress. We predicted that anxious individuals under stress would learn faster about punishments and exhibit choices that were more affected by those punishments, thus formalizing our predictions as parameters in reinforcement learning accounts of behaviour. Overall, the data suggest that anxious individuals are quicker to update their behaviour in response to negative outcomes (increased punishment learning rates). When treating anxiety, it may therefore be more fruitful to encourage anxious individuals to integrate information over longer horizons when bad things happen, rather than try to blunt their responses to negative outcomes. Anxiety is characterized by altered responses under uncertain conditions. Aylward et al. show that these altered responses are due to anxious individuals updating their behaviour in response to negative outcomes more quickly than non-anxious individuals.

Aims: Both gambling and digital gaming are growing in popularity and there is ongoing discussion about their convergence. This population-based longitudinal survey study investigated how gambling and digital gaming types contribute to at-risk gambling and gaming. Methods: The study was based on a representative sample of 18–75-year-olds from mainland Finland. Survey data were collected at 6-month intervals in 2021–2022, starting in April 2021. Of original T1 respondents, 58.95% took part in all four time points. In total, 3,608 observations from 902 individuals were analysed. Outcome measures were at-risk gambling and gaming based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index and the Internet Gaming Disorder Test. Various types of gambling and gaming were investigated. Results: Population-averaged models showed that different forms of gambling were associated with a higher risk of at-risk gaming. Online casino games were associated with the highest likelihood of at-risk gambling and gaming. Prevalence of digital gaming problems was low. Hybrid models were used to investigate the longitudinal within-person and between-person effects of gambling and gaming activities. Online casino games and offline slot machines increased at-risk gambling. Microtransactions within digital games increased at-risk gambling and gaming over time, but the amount of money spent on digital gaming was small compared to gambling. Conclusions: Our results underline the risks of EGMs and online gambling for the participants. Although gambling and gaming are converging, harm is mostly based on gambling.

Gambling tourism is a subject that has been gaining a lot of interest and notoriety over the last two decades. Push and pull factors have for long been the backbone of tourism studies and this research seeks to expound on this theory within the area of casinos. In this study, 1383 google reviews from five different countries in coastal Europe: Casino Vila Moura, Algarve (Portugal), Casino Barrière Le Croisette, Cannes (France), Casino de Monte-Carlo, (Monaco), Casino Malta, (Malta), and Regency Casino Thessaloniki, (Greece) were analyzed with the software Leximancer. The main objective of this study was to identify the concepts in the reviews and then pinpoint what push and pull factor these concepts belonged to and how important this was when choosing a casino destination in Europe. The results highlight the importance of the pull factor while choosing a destination and reveals that gamers seek mainly table games as they attract both players and other tourists who tend to gather around the tables to watch. Among the greatest push-factors is the excitement of winning money in slot machines. Findings also demonstrate that casinos located in Europe offer world-class gambling services that are both engaging and fun to engage in. This study adds to earlier research by employing the push and pull motivation framework within the area of casinos based on user-generated content.

PurposeThe study aims to integrate the insights gained from the gambling industry into a value creation conceptual framework for analyzing the influence of digital technology application. Both primary and secondary data from industry practitioners are examined and discussed.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews covering top management from six major casinos in Macau were conducted with industry experts, who provided the pioneering feedback on digitalization technology implemented with examples from major casino cities, including Macau, Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Singapore, Seoul and some others.FindingsThe study provides an overview of the current status of the application of digital technology in the gambling industry and the level of the feasibility, practicability and profitability of this development on the casino floor. Digital technologies are found to augment the gambling industry in aspects of the product, service and operational structure. Research also discovers that benefits and values gained by the casino can be categorized in three dimensions: (1) value perceived by the customer, (2) value obtained from the customer and (3) value gained by the firm.Originality/valueThe research serves as a reference for Macau policymakers regarding regulations on emerging digital technologies in the gambling industry, as well as for casino management seeking to understand new potential business opportunities and future developments in digitalization.

Electronic gaming machines are normalised business within Australia’s hotels and clubs. Concentrated within low socio-economic and disadvantaged communities, this high-intensity form of gambling creates the often-hidden addiction of problem gambling and the associated widespread social harms. This qualitative study uses radical social work thinking to explore gaming venue employees’ perceptions and experiences of implementing ‘responsible gambling measures’, ostensibly aimed at mitigating the social consequences and harms of problematic gambling. Our analysis reveals that neoliberal ideologies mean that gaming venue employees support ‘freedom of choice’ narratives, which ignore the structural influences at play when an individual becomes an ‘irresponsible’ consumer/gambler. Social workers must be cognisant of the ways in which the notion of the ‘(ir)responsible gambler’ skews how problem gambling and problem gamblers are viewed. The social harms from electronic gaming machines are complex and widespread, and deserve more recognition and attention in social work practice, policy and research.

Purpose of Review Skill-based gaming machines (SGMs) add interactive and/or skill features to electronic gaming machines (EGMs), often modelled on elements from arcade, video, online, or mobile games. Availability of SGMs is expanding in the USA and internationally, but evidence of the impacts of these machines is lacking. To provide direction to policymakers and the scientific community, this review critically evaluates the relevant literature and suggests future avenues for research and consumer protection measures. Recent Findings Early data suggests that SGMs are most appealing to younger demographics and are likely to attract participation from regular gambling or gaming populations, potentially those with pre-existing problems. Studies of skill elements within other gambling activities indicate that players tend to overestimate their level of control in gambling situations that are determined by chance. Skill involved in SGMs could elicit illusions of control in players, which may contribute to the development of gambling problems. Summary The impact of introducing SGMs is still relatively unknown. There is limited robust ecologically valid research on the use of these machines within gambling venues. It is possible that, like other new gambling activities, the introduction of SGMs may lead to harm. Vulnerable populations may include young adults, those with pre-existing problems, and those already involved in gambling and video/mobile gaming. Preliminary consumer protection strategies include player education techniques and account management tools, paired with an empirical evaluation framework. Future studies, including laboratory and field trials, are needed to examine if SGMs more strongly appeal to at-risk gamblers, to determine whether players recognise skill versus chance components, and understand the relationship between involvement, increased cognitive distortions, and problem gambling.

The paper reports on the methodology, experiments, design and outcome of a large auction with multiple, interdependent markets constructed from principles of general equilibrium as opposed to game theoretic auction theory. The auction distributed 18,788 entitlements to operate electronic gaming machines in 176 interconnected markets to 363 potential buyers representing gaming establishments subject to multiple policy constraints on the allocation. The multi-round auction, conducted in one day, produced over $600M in revenue. All policy constraints were satisfied. Revealed dynamics of interim allocations and new statistical tests provide evidence of multiple market convergence hypothesized by classical principles and theories of general equilibrium. Results support the use of computer supported, “tâtonnement–like” market adjustments as a reliable empirical processes and not as purely theoretical constructs.

The operation of video gambling terminals (VGTs) in Illinois has been increasing since they were legalized in 2009, then implemented in 2012. Past research has found that while gambling expenditures are positively correlated with income, they are also regressive in that, as a proportion of individual income, they are negatively correlated with income. Very little research has focused on the effects of VGTs, particularly those located in non-casino establishments. Unlike the state lottery, another form of widespread gambling outside of casinos, VGTs, also known as slot machines, are a form of gambling where substantial amounts of money can be lost quickly. We seek to provide evidence on how their proliferation and revenues relate to income and other neighborhood characteristics. Using detailed VGT revenue data from the Illinois Gaming Board from 2017 and demographic data from the 2016 5-year American Community Survey, this study investigates the relationships of the number of VGTs in operation, and the expenditures on VGTs with the local poverty rate and other socioeconomic variables at the zip code level. Our results indicate that a 1 percentage point higher poverty rate is associated with 1.47% higher VGT expenditures per capita, and 1.17% more VGTs per 10,000 population. The OLS results are not significantly biased by sample selection or spatial auto-correlation. These findings suggest that VGT gambling is negatively correlated with neighborhood income which implies that the taxation of VGT revenue is a regressive tax policy.

Participation in electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling has declined sharply in Australia over the last two decades. At the same time, there has been a gradual slowing and decline in revenue from this form of gambling. In this paper, we use data drawn from a series of population surveys in a single jurisdiction (South Australia) to gain insights into these changes. In particular, we examine whether changes in EGM participation have been reflected similarly in different demographic groups. The results indicate that there have been declines in every age group, in both men and women, and at different levels of household income. However, the decline has been greater in some groups than others, including for women, for middle aged groups (46–64 years), and for those living in the metropolitan area. The paper discusses some of the socio-demographic explanations for these changes. In particular, we highlight the role of population ageing and its potential implications for the long-term future for this form of gambling. EGM gamblers are now older and are not necessarily being replaced by a new generation of younger gamblers, which has implications for the industry and the State government finances as well as gambling-treatment services. At the same time, the evidence we present here does not, however, indicate a strong trend towards a concentration of EGM gambling in more vulnerable groups (e.g. disproportionately in lower income groups or the unemployed).

This paper reports a state of mind described by electronic gaming machine (EGM) problem gamblers (PGs) as the “zone”. Twenty-nine PGs engaged in focus groups and in-depth interviews. Participants described an altered state of awareness: the zone, which was highly desirable providing relief from negative emotions. PGs had difficulty recalling experiences whilst in the zone but described a constriction of attention, awareness and impairment of cognitive functions. During this time, the PG could not think critically, exercise self-observation, realistically appraise the use of money, see the consequences of their actions, exercise the will to cease gambling or learn from harms. Memory was impaired, as was decision-making and the capacity to make rational choices. Understanding the zone may provide insight into treatment where the capacity to learn may be reduced. Further research is needed to determine what proportions of EGM gamblers experience the zone and if this occurs with non-EGM gamblers.