Research: Slot Machine Info Misleads on Winning Odds
Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology led a study involving over 6,000 slot machine players analysing the different regulatory messages shown on slot machines The commonly used ‘Return to Player’ message was found to almost universally increase perceived chances of winning when compared to no message at all. The findings have been published in the journal Addictive Behaviours.
Recent research suggests that as many as 1.3 million adults in Britain may be experiencing problem gambling (2.5% of the adult population). In addition, a significant number of people are considered at-risk or moderate-risk gamblers, with estimates ranging from 480,000 to 2.2 million. In 2023 the government published a white paper outlining a range of measures that could be taken by the gambling industry to provide more protection for gamblers via a range of regulatory measures, including improving the current approaches to presenting information on risk and return to player.
One measure already taken by gambling operators – as mandated by the UK’s Gambling Commission – is to disclose information about each gaming machine’s payout ratios. The operators can choose the type of messages they use. The “return-to-player” (RTP) is the most widely used and indicates the percentage of total money wagered that is anticipated to be returned to players over time, expressed as a percentage, for example, “This game has an average payout of 90%.”
There is also the ‘House Edge’ messaging that focuses on loss – “This game keeps 10% of all money bet” or, “This game is programmed to cost you 10% of your stake on each bet.
This study compared these two types of messaging against no information and showed slot players either the RTP message, two different House Edge (HE) messages or no information, and asked to rate their perceived chances of winning at a new slot machine.
The study showed that a typical 90% return-to-player message increased the perceived chances of winning at a new slot machine in comparison to no information at all. The House Edge messages were no better than having no information given, demonstrating that current messages are not effectively communicating the odds of winning or risk of losing.
The research was led by Dr Leonardo Cohen in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham
The RTP message is the preferred wording choice of most gambling operators and we wanted to find out if it works as a way of ensuring the player understands their chances. We know from previous research that the RTP messaging is almost universally misunderstood, with as many as half of gamblers thinking it means they have a 90% chance of winning, when actually their chances are significantly less. Whilst the message in itself is factually accurate, it is ambiguous and as we found very open to misinterpretation, and in many cases had the opposite desired effect and made the machine seem more attractive to a player against ones that didn’t display any information or information focusing on losses instead of gains. This is evidence that the messaging needs to be much clearer, to ensure gamblers understand their chances of winning and so can make informed choices.
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/study-shows-information-on-slot-machines-is-misleading-players-into-thinking-they-have-a-higher-chance-of-winning