Classification of Slot Machines in Ontario: Providing Relevant Information to Players

1. Classification of Slot
Machines in Ontario
Providing Relevant
Information to Players
Dr. Kevin Harrigan, University of Waterloo
Melissa Sleightholm, Ontario Lottery & Gaming
Dr. Dan Brown, University of Waterloo

2. 2
Agenda
• Introduction & Motivation
• The end “product”
• Design process
• Research study
• Discussion of collaborative “research” projects

3. Introduction & Motivation
3

4. 4
COLLABORATIVE PROJECT

5. 5
MOTIVATION
• Responsible Gambling initiative
• This is a knowledge Translation and Exchange Initiative
• Inform players about slot machine structural
characteristics
• With knowledge, players can make more informed
choices

6. 6
FOCUS GROUPS: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A SLOT MACHINE?
“I have no strategy. I choose the cute ones,
flashing lights, shiny like Wheel of Fortune
- it is so big. I play Sex in the City too. I
play 5 cents to $1. Usually there are a lot
of people, oh maybe that is good… these
people probably know what they are doing
so just going to follow the herd. ”
“The mini games, with bonuses, I go to those, they will give you 10
spins for free, you are not hitting it, but you can still play…I am not
there to gamble, I am there to entertain myself. ”
“Either price or intuition, I will look at a machine and
have a good feeling about, that good feeling in your
gut. I will give it a shot. Sometimes I will end up at slot
machines I don’t even know the name of but I am just
there because I had a feeling.”
“If it is high, $500, I will cash
out and put back $100 back
to trick the machine, and
pretend like I am a new
person, and I win. ”

7. 7
ROLES
• uWaterloo – Conduct research study
• OPGRC/GREO – Provided funding
• OLG – Support/lead project in-situ
• FCB – Design and create all materials

8. The end “product”
8

9. 9
Three Structural Characteristics
• Play Experience – Frequency and size of payouts (volatility)
• Bonus Round Frequency – how likely to trigger a bonus round
• Hold Percentage – the percentage of wagers that goes to the
operator

10. 10
Three sample labels: Specific to each machine

11. 11

12. 12

13. 13

14. 14
EMPLOYEE TRAINING MATERIALS

15. 15
EMPLOYEE CHEAT SHEET

16. 16
SUPPORTING COMMUNICATIONS

17. 17
ON-SITE POSTERS

18. 18
DIGITAL SIGNAGE

19. 19
DIGITAL SIGNAGE

20. 20
GENERATE PLAYER AWARENESS AND INTEREST

21. 21
CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCES

22. 22
IN PROGRESS
• Playsmart.ca
• Social Media (Facebook & Twitter)
• Email to Winner’s Circle members
• Winner’s Circle home page
• Winner’s Circle Newsletter

23. Design process
23

24. 24
THE PROCESS
Initial player focus groups tested six structural
characteristics:
• Odds of winning
• Payback percentage
• Play experience
• Slot cycle
• Number of top awards per slot cycle
• Bonus round hit frequency

25. 25
THE PROCESS
Based on findings, second round of focus groups tested five
characteristics:
• Odds of winning
• Payback percentage
• Hold percentage
• Play experience
• Bonus round hit frequency

26. 26
THE PROCESS
Stakeholder Consultations
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
• Responsible Gambling Council (RGC)
• GREO
• OLG Gaming Operations
• Ontario problem gambling counsellors

27. 27
LABEL TESTING

28. 28
“Love it. Every machine everywhere should
have it. People should be aware of the pay
percentages and this label is very detailed to
allow a person to make an informative
decision on what machine they want to play”
“I think it is a great idea, it
would definitely help me decide
if I wanted to play or not”
“I like the
concept. It
will help
me find
the right
game for
my needs
at the
time”
“Loved it! Would be very helpful
in choosing games that suit the
way I want to play”
“Far too much information.
Overwhelming cluster of text
and charts”
“Add some colour”
“Too much to read on label”
“A lot of information in one
place, a little much”

29. 29
More Testing
• We chose Grand River Slots in Elora as our pilot site:
• Testing with Winners Circle members at Elora
• Testing with Staff at Elora

30. 30
BIGGEST DESIGN CHALLENGE FOR RESEARCHERS
• Payback Percentage vs The Hold
• Most important for researchers
• It is what makes this a RG research study
• Players confused by it
• Staff confused by it
• Changed throughout our design process
• Finally used The Hold as it speaks to losses

31. 31
OTHER CHALLENGES
• Subjectivity of classification between vendors
• Play experience varies based on number of lines bet
• Multi-themed slots – multiple play experiences, holds, and
bonus rounds
• Placement on slot machine
• Do players understand the information?

32. Research Study
32

33. 33
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Pre and Post assessment
• Pre: Before labels are installed
• Post: 6 weeks after labels are installed
• 80 Participants each assessment
• Across Winners Circle membership levels

34. 34
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Pre and post questionnaires
• Demographics
• Problem Gambling Severity Index
• Random events knowledge test
• Resistance to change
• Content – label concepts
• Beliefs about OLG
• Approaches to gambling
• Total of 115 questions

35. 35
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Player and Machine data
• Three months pre- and post-
• Provided by OLG

36. 36
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Player data (not finalized)
• Date played
• Game
• Game theme
• Coin in
• Coin out
• Average bet

37. 37
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Machine data
• Machine
• Classification
• Theme
• Hold
• Utilization
• Average Bet
• Coin In

38. 38
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
• For Research Study
• Players understand the three structural characteristics
of slot machines
• For OLG
• Players make informed choices

39. Discussion of collaborative “research” projects
39

40. 40
Timeframe
Initial start date: March 15, 2014
Initial end date: Oct 15, 2014
Current end date: June 30, 2017
Collaboration takes time!

41. 41
Reflections on Collaboration
• Difficult for us to run research study over 3 years
• Teaching terms
• Original study dates were over the summer
• Sabbatical
• Our semesters don’t always align well with a 3-year study
• Complications with OPGRC becoming GREO
• Requests for extensions
• Requests for budget adjustments

42. 42
Reflections on Collaboration
• Researchers have lack of control vs a lab study
• Researchers attended by did not conduct focus groups
• Researchers did not attend testing with Winner’s
Circle members in Elora
• Researchers did not attend testing with staff at Elora

43. 43
IT’S HAPPENING NOW! STAY TUNED
• Pre-test this week (Feb 20 start)
• Labels and material installed next weekend
• Post-test the week of April 10