New research into the harm minimization potential of cashless gambling on electronic gaming machines has found some users may be reluctant to adopt the technology due to concerns around privacy and fears it may in fact induce them to spend more.
The research paper, published in the academic journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, was written by a team from the University of Sydney led by Professor Sally Gainsbury and her PhD student Tom Swanton, with 26 EGM users participating in a series of focus groups. Data from these focus groups was then organized to uncover perceptions about the benefits and risks of cashless gambling, factors potentially influencing uptake of cashless gambling, and recommendations about harm reduction features that could be incorporated into the cashless systems.
Titled, “Qualitative analysis of consumer perspectives regarding the harm minimization potential of digital payment systems for electronic gaming machines”, the research found that cashless gambling was perceived to present important opportunities for more useful and meaningful harm reduction measures based on the ability to track a user’s complete gambling activity.
However, participants also reported reluctance toward adoption of cashless gambling, perceiving such systems as being “overly restrictive and invasive”, and “potentially facilitating (over)spending, depending on design and implementation. Participants commonly perceived systems as offering little value to individuals who gamble without experiencing significant harms.”
As such, the research concluded that such perceived irrelevance and privacy concerns loom as major barriers to the adoption of a cashless gambling system with strong harm reduction features.
Such findings, the team added, should serve to provide insights for policy makers considering the optimal design, implementation and marketing of cashless gambling from a harm reduction perspective.
The full research paper is available here.
Cashless gaming has been a hot topic in Australia, with casino operators Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment Group in the process of implementing mandatory cashless gaming and trials underway for similar technology to be installed in pubs and clubs across New South Wales.
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