Past research has shown that people gamble more responsibly when certain relevant information is available. Studies suggest that certain types of information about slot machines: payback percentage, volatility of wins, and bonus round frequency are of interest to players, but this information is not available to them. This report presents the results of an effort to produce slot machine labels that would help people gamble more responsibly by providing information. The labels were placed on all 252 slot machines at OLG Slots at Grand River Raceway, Ontario, Canada. Casino patrons completed questionnaires before the labels were implemented, and six weeks after implementation. Changes in player behaviour were assessed through data collected through the participants' loyalty reward program membership. The effect on overall business operations was determined by comparing historical and post-implementation Coin-In, Utilization, and Actual Win data from the slot machines, provided by the venue's Gaming Operations.
The slot machine data showed an overall pattern of decreased play duration but increased wager or spin rate, resulting in little overall change to the operator profits. Participants indicated they slightly elevated knowledge of how slot machine volatility works, and were able to better locate slot machines with different payback percentage and volatility following the introduction of the labels. 84% of players felt they understood the concepts as they were presented on the labels. Of these players, 44% felt that they would change their behaviour given the information on the labels. However, they also indicated a middling match between the content of the labels and their actual play experiences. For moderate-risk gamblers, the labels were found to potentially decrease the time between casino visits and increase gambling expenditure, though significance of this effect was marginal. Players did not use the information on the labels in a manner indicating they engaged in more risky behaviour after the labels were installed – players essentially continued their gambling behaviour as before with minor changes in their play.
