Is the Gamification Of Online Casinos Irresponsible?

Humans have been creating games since the species got comfortable enough to not have to focus on not being killed off every waking second of every day. Games remain a huge part of human society in the 21st century, as they touch nearly every aspect of life.

Gamification is a common marketing strategy in the online gambling industry and has found new emphasis with technological advancements. As the gamification techniques improve, ethical questions arise in light of individuals struggling with gambling-related behavioral pathologies.

What is gamification?

In a vacuum, gamification is simply introducing aspects of a game into activities that are not intrinsically games. Such practices far predate the harnessing of electricity or the development of efficient computers.

A good example of gamification is physical exercise. When you add a scoring system or rewards associated with exercising regularly, that is gamification.

This technique has been used in myriad ways. Educators use gamification to teach. Television shows use gamification to build interest in their programs.

Such techniques have become so widespread because they are extremely effective at incentivizing desired behavior.

Why gamification appeals to humans

Gamification simultaneously taps into several aspects of humanity that Daisy Yuhas wrote about¹ for Scientific American: autonomy, competence and value.

Games give you a sense of self-determination, that your fate in a matter is at least partially determined by your performance. At the same time, achievement in the game affords the satisfaction of confirming your competence in the necessary skill.

Additionally, the reward at the end of the game grants value to the activity. The operators of US online casinos have already been using this technique to acquire customers and keep them engaged, as many businesses do.

Gamification in the context of online casino play

One common example of gamification within the online casino space is an online slots tournament. The casino operator sets start and end times, determines which games are eligible, sets wagering minimums, and outlines how to earn points toward a player’s standing in the tournament field.

The operator will keep score and issue rewards once the tournament is over according to players’ standings. Many times such rewards consist of free play on the app.

Such techniques are becoming more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence systems that can catalog, categorize and track player behavior at a faster rate than humans. These systems can create highly customizable gamification elements with minimal human effort.

While gamification techniques can be highly successful for player acquisition and retention, there are significant downsides to the strategy as well.

When gamification backfires for online casino operators

The gamification of online casino platforms can be effective because of their cohesion to human behavior. However, there is another side to that coin.

Sam Liberty wrote² about how gamification techniques can backfire for businesses in that the consumer’s interest is only in the game provided and not the product or service that the business is offering. Going back to the example of the slot tournament, an example of this behavior would be a player spending time refreshing the leaderboard instead of playing the slots.

Furthermore, once the tournament ends, such players may abandon the app, thus making any gains temporary for the casino. To keep these players engaged, the casinos have to constantly provide these gamified experiences.

If the need for constant stimuli to produce a desired dopamine hit sounds familiar, it’s because that reward chemical in the brain has been connected to unsafe gambling practices. Scholarship exists on the subject of the addictive potential of gamification.

Research into the addictive potential of gamification

Scholars have looked into the relationship between addiction and gamification from many perspectives. A 2023 paper³ published by the Journal of Family Counseling and Education found that players’ roles within a game seemed to have some correlation with signs of addiction to the game.

In 2022, the journal Benchmarking published a paper⁴ that claimed that the findings imply “that gamification can even bring mental and emotional disturbance.” In turn, that could lead to “undesirable social consequences.”

These are just two examples of such work. However, academic work exists that paints gamification in a different light.

Positive depictions of gamification in academia

It doesn’t take long to identify papers that present a contrasting narrative when it comes to gamification. A 2021 paper⁵ published in the American Psychological Association’s PsycNet journal documents the use of gamification in neurocognitive therapy as a rehabilitation technique for game addiction.

A similar paper⁶ from the National Library of Medicine provides examples of gamification used to prevent internet and substance addiction. While there is room for more research on the relationship between gamification of online casino apps and people experiencing gambling-related harms, ethical considerations could focus more on the motivation and usage than gamification itself.

Hammering the ethics of gamification in online casinos

From one ethical perspective, gamification is amoral. A good comparison is a hammer. The same object that can be used to build shelters for people can also be used to inflict bodily harm.

It is how the hammer is used, then, that distinguishes it between a tool and a weapon. Without human interaction, it is neither bad nor good.

It’s possible to look at gamification in the same way. Another ethical perspective spurs the conversation forward.

Utilitarianism approach to ethics

A utilitarian perspective of ethics suggests the most ethical choice in a situation is the choice that produces the best outcome for the greatest number of people. Comparing gamification to a hammer again, the question would be whether its existence is a net benefit to more people or a net harm to the same.

If more people experience benefits from hammers than harm, then a strict utilitarian would argue that they are morally good. A microscopic focus on that approach has flaws like it requires substantial data to support its arguments and in the meantime, significant harm could occur.

Regardless, the utilitarian perspective begs a deeper question of gamification when it comes to online casino play.

Does gamification provide a utilitarian benefit?

Isolating the ethics conversation around gamification and online casinos to simply the utilitarian perspective begs one question. How does that element provide more of a benefit to the greatest number of people than harm to the same?

One possible answer to that question involves the benefits of a regulated gambling landscape. Regulation of such gaming provides benefits like financial resources for social services and consumer protections.

Those are benefits of regulation, not gamification, though. It’s possible to further argue that gamification helps ensure regulated operators stay in business and even provides an incentive for gamblers to change course away from unregulated channels.

If that is the case on a broad scale, then a utilitarian argument could be made for gamifying online casinos. Evidence of that effect is meager at this time, creating the need for more scholarship.

Caution in the face of a known unknown

The bottom line on the ethics of gamification of online casino platforms is that there simply isn’t yet enough information to make a call. Hopefully, researchers will soon begin to examine the relationships between these game elements and unsafe gambling behavior.

Because the effects of this technique are a known unknown, operators of online casinos should take care when applying the principles in their marketing and platforms. In an evaluation of gamification within this context, both the benefits and the limitations must be equally considered.