Dr. Kevin Harrigan is a founding member of the Games Institute, the director of the Knowledge Translation Stream at UWaterloo, and contact person for the Gambling Research Lab. Dr. Harrigan's present research focuses on promoting healthier gambling by developing methods to make gamblers aware of their statistical odds.
Dr. Harrigan has been working with Dr. Dan Brown, professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, to develop information labels for slot machines. Their research stems from the findings that slot machines manipulate players into thinking they are winning more than they are. Ever wonder why slot machines use so many flashing lights, exciting sounds, and interesting animations? According to Dr. Harrigan and Dr. Brown, those are tactics to disguise losses as wins and make players feel they are closer to winning than they are.
Players are at an unfair disadvantage because they have no way of knowing what they are dealing with. Dr. Harrigan and Dr. Brown are combatting this issue with a strategy inspired by the "Facts Up Front" nutrition labelling practice in the United States. Like nutrition labels, these professors are developing slot-machine labels that display the truth of the game's statistical odds.
The labels will show players:
- How volatile the game is, that is, whether the game has frequent but small payouts or the payouts are larger but occur less often.
- The chance of hitting a bonus round.
- The payback percentage, or the percentage of all bets that go to the casino.
Dr. Harrigan and Dr. Brown are currently working with OLG to study player responses to these labels. Together, they are working towards figuring out the best way to educate players on how slot machines can be misleading so that we all have a fair understanding of our risks when gambling.
To read the original article in the Waterloo Record, click here