The bad, ugly, and potentially good sides of social casino gaming

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Author(s): Wohl, Michael J. A. ; Salmon, Melissa M. ; Hollingshead, Samantha J. ; Kim, Hyoun S.

Journal: Journal of Gambling Issues

Year Published: 2017

Date Added: July 24, 2017

Social casino games are casino-themed games, like poker. They are widely available on social media platforms such as Facebook. Social casino games are free to play but offer micro-transactions that allow gamers to purchase additional credits to continue play. Some gambling researchers and policy-makers are concerned that social casino gaming may lead to problem gambling behaviours. Other researchers believe that social casino gaming may serve as an alternative to actual gambling. Thus, they suggest that social casino gaming may be able to reduce gambling behaviours and related harms. The current article reviews past research on the link between social casino gaming and gambling. It provides a discussion of the consequences (good and bad) of social casino gaming. It also proposes a path model of social casino gaming to describe the different effects it may have on gambling behaviour.

Citation: Wohl, M. J. A., Salmon, M. M., Hollingshead, S. J., & Kim, H. S. (2017). An examination of the relationship between social casino gaming and gambling: The bad, the ugly, and the good. Journal of Gambling Issues, 35, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2017.35.1

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2017.35.1

Keywords: casinos ; disordered gambling ; gambling ; gambling benefits ; microtransactions ; migration ; social casino games ; treatment

Topics: Information for Treatment Providers ; Venue/Casino

Conceptual Framework Factors: Exposure - Gambling Setting ; Exposure - Convergence of Gaming and Gambling ; Resources - Interventions

Response Rate: N/A

Study Design: Scoping Review

Study Population: N/A

Sampling Procedure: N/A