Search results

Slot machines and other machine gaming generate between 65 percent and 90 percent of a US casino's revenue. This article aims to examine the motivations, behaviors, and preferences of slot machine customers, and to develop market segments.

The study's objectives include: understanding the demographic, gambling motivation, and gambling behavioral characteristics of slot machine players; identifying important reasons for choosing one slot machine game over another; examining player attitudes and behaviors pertaining to progressive machines; and investigating player desire for theme‐based games. This was accomplished through an online survey of slot machine players.

Profiles of slot machine players are developed and the slot players are segmented into four clusters that explain motivations and game preferences.

This article fills in some of the gaps in understanding the gambling behavior of slot players. This study can help gaming machine manufacturers design new products and features to serve existing machine gaming customers and to attract new customers. Casino and other gaming operators can use this information not only to select the right types of machines to provide on‐site, but also to develop advertising and promotions to attract and retain new and existing customers for slot machines and other types of gaming machines.

This is the first published study that segments slot machine players from a marketing perspective and identifies their preferences, behaviors, and demographic groupings.

CEO Richard Gedman has suddenly found himself running two separate but potentially related businesses: the slot manufacturing and marketing business that he has been running for years, and a new online and mobile gaming business that has grown incredibly fast over the past couple of years. To sustain success in both businesses, it seems clear that each one will require significant R&D investments. Should he invest in only one or both?

After students analyze the case, they will have a greater appreciation for why successful marketing requires a true understanding of customers and their preferences, rather than (for example) merely examining competitor offerings. They will also have a clearer understanding of how to calculate some of the basic metrics needed to do a marketing analysis (e.g., market share, price per unit) and how these metrics can inform any marketing decisions significantly.

Gambling is increasingly a global phenomenon, derided by some as exploitative and viewed by others as entertainment. Despite extensive research into gambling motivations, previous research has not assessed whether gaming choice is a function of one’s personal motivations or simply a desire to gamble in general, regardless of game choice among recreational gamblers. The purpose of this study is to explore this theme by considering “illusion of control” where luck and skill may moderate gambling motivation.

This study applies two motivation theories, hedonic consumption theory and motivation disposition theory, and examines heuristic perspectives related to gambling. Three stages of qualitative data collection were undertaken.

The findings indicate that for recreational gamblers, gaming choice is a function of personal motives. Hence, gamblers chose games that reflect their needs or motives, focusing on the game or games that best allow them to achieve their goals and desires.

These findings shed light on an important topic and include an in-depth examination of recreational gamblers’ motivations. Further quantitative examinations should be considered.

This research could be used by practitioners or researchers in better segmenting the casino recreational gambling market.

While many researchers have examined gambling motivations and even gambling motivations by venue (e.g. casino versus online), few researchers have focused on gamblers’ choice of games and even fewer have studied recreational gamblers’ motivations with a qualitatively rich approach, resulting in some useful perspectives on drivers of recreational gamblers by personal motives.

In 2014 WMS Gaming, a manufacturer and seller of slot machines to casinos, was considering a redesign of its existing revenue model. As technology evolved and customer demand for gaming solutions intensified, new and innovative revenue models were being adopted in other technology markets. Most notably, the subscription revenue model, in which customers paid a monthly subscription fee rather than a large upfront fee, was becoming widely adopted in the software industry. Product manager Dayna Stone had the task of evaluating several revenue models and recommending one that most suited WMS's business needs and at the same time took customer needs and wishes into consideration. Complicating this decision were several factors that would have to be kept in mind. Americans' love of gaming had led to a mushrooming of casinos, which meant increased competition for casino dollars. Yet the financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath had weakened demand for casinos. In addition, casinos, depending on the type of customers they attracted, differed in their appetite for innovation and maintenance of their slot machines. Students will step into the shoes of Dayna Stone as she undertakes the task of weighing these factors and selecting the right revenue model.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Loto‐Quebec's strategy as it adopts the new concept called Ludoplex.

The stakeholders' (public health representatives and police officials) viewpoint is obtained during interviews.

This paper concludes that the next year and a half will be decisive for the survival of a marketing strategy that still has to prove its worthiness.

This paper describes a new type of gaming operation that is compatible with an entertainment complex attracting families and older children. The concept has a potential for application in tourism destinations that allow gaming.

The paper provides the viewpoint of the new strategy announced by Loto‐Quebec by interviewing the stakeholders. It offers practical viewpoint for readers.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the roles of five drivers of service quality (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) and perceived winning in the gaming behavior of table game players; and second, to test the moderating effects of table game players' demographic and situational factors (gender, education level, parenting status, and proximity to a casino).

A review of the current literature in the above‐mentioned areas revealed 13 theoretical hypotheses, from which the authors derived a structural model. The model was tested utilizing data collected from 383 US casino patrons that primarily played table games during visits to casinos. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized to test the proposed theoretical relationships.

The results indicate that various dimensions of perceived service quality (including tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) in casinos, as well as casino patrons' perceived winning have considerable influence on their satisfaction. Brand affect and game spending were found to be influenced by the patron satisfaction with table games. The relationship between perceived empathy and table game satisfaction was stronger for females than for males; the relationship between perceived winning and table game satisfaction was stronger for those with lower levels of formal education; and the relationship between table game satisfaction and game spending was stronger for table game players without children and for those residing near a casino.

This study provides an empirical analysis of the effects of perceived service quality at table games and perceived winning on table game players' satisfaction, brand affect, and game spending. The results of this study may be utilized to aid casino operators to better tailor their marketing efforts and improve returns on investments.

Building and maintaining service quality is one means of retaining customers and thus establishing competitive advantage in the casino industry. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between casino service quality, player segments and customer loyalty in an Asian casino.

The research involves the conduct of focus group interviews with different segments of gamblers.

The interview findings indicate that players at different segments have distinct perceptions of service quality. Operationalising service quality into five dimensions, this study has shown that various dimensions of service quality have differing effects on customer loyalty, and the level of loyalty varies across different segments.

It is insufficient to view service quality as the customer's judgement about an entity's overall excellence or superiority as has been defined in the services literature. Differing perceptions and attitudes arise with customers of different segments and are resultant from the variety of service encounters that a customer experiences. To obtain positive customer perceptions towards the organisation's service quality, it is advisable to manage each service encounter closely and to develop service encounters nuanced to the expectations of different segments.

This is the first study to incorporate customer pyramid segmentation approach into the analysis of the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty. It provides insights into the relationship between service quality, customer segments and customer loyalty through interviewing casino customers of different segments based on customers' services preferences and the card segmentation system employed by the survey casino

This study aims to understand how free-play credits affect risk-seeking behavior in slot players. Extant results suggest they encourage risk aversion, counter to the primary aim of increasing spend per visit. The results inform operators as to the effectiveness of what has become the primary play incentive for casino marketers within many of the world’s markets.

Within a quasi-experimental grouped design, 365 days of player-level performance data from four different casinos were analyzed to determine whether player losses (casino revenues) and time played differed on visits that included free-play redemptions from those that did not. Hypotheses were tested via paired-samples t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests.

On balance, neither player losses nor time played were significantly different on the free-play visits. Neither the house money effect nor the endowment effect was supported. The results were most consistent with the prospect-theory-with-memory editing rule. No findings indicated increased risk-seeking behavior associated with the free-play offers.

Casino operators are afforded insight related to how costly free-play campaigns affect gaming spend and playtime. Both are critical to understanding the impact of free-play on the gambler’s experience.

The 365-day samples extended existing research by analyzing the impact of free-play offers on risk-taking behaviors within the scope of a perpetual/ongoing campaign. Comparisons of observed daily behavior/outcomes were made between separate tiers of like-kind gamblers from each of four different casinos. Quasi-hedonic editing rules were applied to a multistage decision framework.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the functional motive and trait antecedents of four forms of gambling – slot machines, skilled card games, sports betting, and participating in marketing promotional games such as sweepstakes and contests.

A hierarchical model of motivation and personality (3M model) was employed to investigate the trait and functional motive antecedents of four gambling activities. Five motives for gambling were identified – money, excitement, social interaction, escape from problems, and self‐esteem enhancement. In addition, the effects of demographic variables (i.e. age, gender, and education) on four gambling types were examined. A total of 1,158 responses were collected from an online consumer panel.

The results suggest that the four forms of gambling have divergent motives, traits, and demographic profiles.

Future research should further explore other possible traits in predicting different gambling activities (e.g. superstitious beliefs). Another limitation of the study is the online panel sample, which is somewhat older and more highly educated than the general public.

The findings will help marketers better segment the market based on unique profiles of personality traits, functional motives, and demographic variables associated with each gambling type and design communication strategies to reach the targeted consumers.

Previous researchers have neither investigated the functional motives for gambling nor compared the motives for divergent forms of gambling. This research employs a hierarchical model (3M model) to investigate the trait and functional motive predictors of multiple forms of gambling.