Why people gamble, and pay real money to play social casino games

[sociomi]

When I accepted my first job in the social casino (free to play slot machines) space, I did not understand fully (or believe) why anyone would pay to play a casino game (slots, poker, bingo, etc.) if they could not win money. After all, people gambled to win money, or so I thought. It was, however, difficult to argue with the data that showed social casino consistently the most profitable genre in social and mobile gaming. Moreover, I also did not fully understand why people would spend real money for a virtual good (i.e. a virtual tractor) and assumed the two must be related.

Those questions prompted me to do research before starting my position in the social casino, which led to my blog post Why would anyone buy a virtual good? . The post also included information that people gamble for three reasons – economic, symbolic and pleasure-seeking – and only one of them was tied to making money.

Recently, I came across an article, Segmenting slot machine players: a factor-cluster analysis by Sandy Chen, Stowe Shoemaker and Dina Marie Zemke, that provides even more insight into why people would spend money on a social casino game. While the research was about real money slots players, it shows their motivations are often non-financial; that is they are not playing to make money.

Chen, Shoemaker and Zemke segmented slots players into four clusters based on five sets of factors, and by looking at each cluster it provides a good understanding of the people who play and monetize on social slots products. The five factors are ego-driven, learning, relaxation, excitement and financial rewards. Based on how players ranked the various factors, the authors were able to create four distinct clusters that show different types of players. Below, I recap the four clusters, which you can then use to make your products and marketing better fit for your target customers.

The “excitement gambling seekers” cluster
Players who are excitement gambling seekers are playing for the stimulation. Their primary motivation is the strong sensations they experience while playing, the positive memories from winning moments and the thrill of winning or losing. Excitement seekers were the largest cluster of slots players (27.5%) in the research.
The key takeaway about this cluster is they are not playing to win or make money, they are playing for the same reason someone rides a roller coaster, excitement.

The “relaxation gambling seekers” cluster
These customers are escaping by playing slots. Their primary motivation is the game's enjoyment and the release of tension. They will often credit slots as the best way to relax completely. Instead of focusing on winning, this cluster is more concerned with the playing experience. This is has more men than women (51.5% to 49.5% respectively). 25.5 percent of slots players make up this cluster.

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The key takeaway with this cluster is that they are playing largely for the same reason someone goes to the cinema or reads a book, to relax and escape. As with the excitement cluster, they are not looking for financial rewards.