Social Casino Gambling

It is interesting to note that a high proportion of land-based gamblers played social slot games given the popularity of electronic gaming machines among land-based gamblers in Australia and the USA.

The results for other social casino games also indicated that a substantial proportion of social casino game players were likely to also gamble on the same types of activities as they played without money. This may indicate that some gamblers are also interested in the social casino game versions of activities they also gamble on. These results are consistent with international research, which found that social slot players were more likely to visit land-based casinos than other social casino players were.

This research also found that the frequency of visits to land-based casinos increased with the amount players spent on social casino games. A study of 1,500 adult social gamers from the US found that 46% of social gamers said that playing with friends is the most important feature to them.

In comparison, gambling is typically motivated by winning, although socialization is an important factor for some gamblers.

Not surprisingly, social casino gamers were more likely than non-social casino gamers to have easy access to the Internet. Nonetheless, given that a high proportion of Australian and US gamblers appear to have Internet access at home and work, lack of Internet access is unlikely to represent a significant barrier for most adults to accessing social casino games.

The finding that a significantly greater proportion of Internet gamblers also played social casino games is also not surprising given that there appears to be a greater degree of similarity between Internet gamblers and social casino gamers, than between non-Internet gamblers and social casino gamers, in terms of demographic characteristics as well as engagement in online activities.

Compared to land-based gamblers, Internet gamblers are likely to be younger, have a positive attitude towards gambling and be engaged in a greater number of gambling activities.

Therefore, the greater gambling engagement and more positive attitudes about gambling held by social as compared to non-social casino gamers may be related to their greater representation among Internet gamblers in the current sample.

The results from this study are consistent with previous studies on young adult and adolescent populations, which found that problem gambling was strongly related to the use of social casino games and are important in demonstrating this relationship in an adult sample. Social casino gamers were more likely to smoke as well as have higher reported levels of illicit drug use, which are both highly comorbid with gambling problems.

Social casino game players also had higher levels of psychological distress, which may be related to higher reported levels of gambling problems, which are often comorbid with other mental health issues including anxiety, stress, and depression.

Alternatively, psychological distress may be related to excessive Internet use, including playing online social games, which has been proposed to represent a discrete mental health disorder, similar to disordered gambling.

The current research does not indicate causality or direction and no non-gamblers were included in this analysis so the relationship between problem gambling, substance use, and mental health issues and social casino gaming needs additional investigation.

The extent to which social casino games contribute to disorder gambling is unknown. As mall survey of problem gambling counselors in Great Britain reported that for some clients, social casino gaming was their first experience with gambling, and some clients reported that social casino games triggered gambling urges and contributed to problems, however, others suggested that social casino games did not cause problems or were even helpful in avoiding gambling.

It is possible that social casino games will encourage misplaced confidence in users that they will be successful at gambling, due to the development of irrational beliefs about the likelihood of winning.

However, it is also possible that individuals who are motivated to gamble are also interested in social casino games, and their problems are related to a range of bio-psycho-social factors, among which social casino games play a minimal role.

Excessive Internet gaming has been proposed to be a similar behavioral addiction as disordered gambling so it is possible that similar underlying characteristics lead to problematic use of these activities.

Some obvious limitations of this research have already been noted; there were no non-gamblers in this sample, so the results only pertain to social casino gamers who also engage in gambling.

All the researches findings show that social casino game use is more common amongst Internet gamblers, although social casino gamers appear to represent a distinct subgroup of gamblers who are younger, male, and more engaged in gambling overall.

The results clearly show that there is a proportion of social casino gamers who also engage in gambling, which is consistent with the growing trend of social casino gaming companies offering gambling and gambling companies partnering with or offering social casino gaming in an attempt to capture this market. It is likely that there will be continued convergence between these two activities, which will have important implications for policymakers. 

Social casino gaming is currently relatively free of regulation. However, where it is offered in close proximity to gambling and players are encouraged to start gambling, strong social and public health policies are required to protect players from potential harms.

As the current research showed that social casino game use amongst gamblers was related to elevated levels of gambling harm, smoking, drug use, and psychological distress, policies should be implemented to protect vulnerable populations, including young people and problem gamblers who play social casino games.

Although the evidence does not indicate that social casino games cause harm, gamblers who engage in these games are clearly appropriate targets for harm minimization strategies. Policies to minimize harms may include ensuring that social casino games are clearly distinguishable from gambling, particularly where the outcomes of games do not realistically depict the odds of gambling to avoid misleading players. The use of social casino games should be used to educate players about responsible gambling.