The Role of Habit Formation in Casino Play
As a popular self-help book has compellingly argued, the habits we build, consciously and unconsciously, play a vital role in shaping our destiny. But if you’re running an online casino, you’ll also want to be concerned with the habits of other people – specifically, the people who play your games.
Through the use of a variety of psychological tricks, it’s possible to nudge a player into taking a given action. More importantly, it’s possible to shape the habits that will ultimately get them to nudge themselves. This might mean using cues and rewards to reinforce certain patterns of behaviour. Or, it might mean occasionally breaking those patterns to help a player remain in control.
The habit loop in gaming
Habits are formed through a three-stage process known as the Habit Loop. There are a number of variations on the concept, but fundamentally, a player is presented with a cue, following which they’ll take action and be rewarded. Every time the reward is issued, the response becomes more deeply ingrained.
In casino play, it’s possible to cue the player in a variety of ways. A specific sound effect, or a visual flourish, might provide a clue that a reward is just around the corner.
Interestingly, it’s random rewards that tend to produce the strongest response. When we perceive that a resource is scarce, we might easily be induced to hoard it. Thus, when the slot machine pays out sporadically, we keep pulling the lever.
Behavioural markers
How can we tell when a habit is being formed? There are a number of markers to look for, but two of them stand out as particularly significant. These are the length of time it takes for the player to respond to a cue, and the more fixed the betting patterns become over time. If a player always plays a few round of slots on the train to work, then this will show up as a reliable spike in the data.
The good news for casino operators is that they are able to quantify these markers very precisely, and thereby understand exactly who is, and who isn’t, developing a habit.
Audio and visual cues
The use of the right sound effects and animations can be pivotal in cueing a player. Louder sounds and more extravagant effects can produce a stronger response. To this end, casino operators have an incentive to use every tool at their disposal – which is why very few online games are monochrome and silent.
UX strategies
A number of tricks might be employed to encourage more play. The best apps, like the Megaways Casino at Mr Q, use all of them.
Gamification strategies might reward players who return every day, for example – or use notifications to draw players back into the app, and provide them with bespoke suggestions for new games, based on their history.
