Do cashless payment and the pain of paying affect gambling behaviour?

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Author(s): Limbrick-Oldﬁeld, Eve H. ; Chua, Candy ; Cringle, Natalie ; MacDonald, Kent I. ; Ferrari, Mario A. ; Zhang, Ke ; Clark, Luke

Journal: Addiction Research & Theory

Year Published: 2021

Date Added: March 10, 2022

The researchers did two experiments to test the effects of monetary formats on gambling behaviour. In Experiment 1, participants gambled on a slot machine with cash or voucher (a cashless payment method). In Experiment 2, participants gambled with money they had earned through a task or with money they were given (windfall). The results showed only weak evidence that monetary formats affected gambling behaviour. Bet size and number of bets did not vary across groups in both experiments. However, game-level factors including the length of losing streak and the size of previous win affected how quickly participants started their next bet and their bet size.

Citation: Limbrick-Oldfield, E. H., Chua, C., Cringle, N., MacDonald, K., Ferrari, M. A., Zhang, K., & Clark, L. (2021). Cashless gambling and the pain of paying: Effects of monetary format on slot machine gambling. Addiction Research & Theory. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.2009465

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.2009465

Keywords: cashless ; decision making ; gambling ; gambling behaviours ; money ; payment methods ; risk-taking ; slot-machine gambling

Topics: Gambling and the Brain

Conceptual Framework Factors: Gambling Types ; Types - Structural Characteristics ; Psychological Factors ; Psychological - Judgement and Decision Making

Study Design: Experimental: RCT (randomized controlled trial)

Geographic Coverage: Canada, British Columbia

Study Population: Adults aged 19 and older, had gambled on slot machines in the past three months, and normal or corrected-to-normal vision. People were excluded if they scored higher than seven on the PGSI, had ever sought treatment for gambling problems, or enrolled in voluntary self-exclusion (N = 109)

Sampling Procedure: For both experiments, participants were recruited through advertisements online (Craigslist, Kijiji, and departmental websites) and in local newspapers. Participants were screened by telephone for eligibility prior to participation.

Study Funding:

This study was the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the core funding of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC.