4 Ways Video Games Use Casino Tactics to Appeal to Their Users

One of the main reasons why video games keep people so glued to the screen is the fact that they are designed to provide players with so many micro rewards. This is also one of the reasons why people with ADHD have the patience to spend so much time grinding an otherwise arduous game. 

Everything you do right in a game gives you a serotonin hit. 

Every time you do something right, you get an increase in experience, in-game currency, skill lever, or quest progression. You complete quests, improve your gear, and carry on with character progression.

In a way, casinos provide much of the same stimuli. How so? Well, here are four examples that will support this claim. 

1. Bonuses, promotions, and special events

Bonuses create a sense of urgency, especially since they’re usually time-limited. They may be a lure, but they always feel like a gift and make you play harder and more committed than you otherwise would. 

For instance, if you’re playing an online game like MMORPG, you might see a weekend with extra XP gain, which means that if you play extra hard over the weekend, you will level up a lot faster. In theory, you could be trying to rush to the maximum level in order to access end-game content, which means that these two days of gaming over the weekend could make up for an entire week’s worth of workday gaming. 

This is exactly what casino bonuses and promotions do for you. They give you a chance for more spins, often when a new slot game is released, according to Sam Barnard. While they’re not giving you anything you wouldn’t be able to access without them, you have a strong feeling of extra value and a reluctance to let it go to waste.

Just think about it: you can play now for free, or you’ll have to spend real money to play tomorrow. Likewise, you can grind a bit of leveling today or spend three days trying to catch up with all this lost XP.

In video games, these bonuses can be extra crafty. For instance, if it’s a special event, you could earn a skin or a mount/vehicle that you won’t be able to earn later on. There’s even a financial incentive to it because if you decide to sell your account, it will be worth a lot more. At the very least, it will serve as a stronger USP. 

2. Random rewards

One of the most notorious video game mechanics is loot boxes. Here, you either win a loot box through your in-game activity or purchase it with real money. The reason why a lot of people compare this to gambling is because you’re not actually spending currency (real or in-game) on a reward but a chance of a reward.

What’s in the loot box can be much more valuable than what you’ve spent to gain it (time or money), or it could be completely worthless (like a duplicate of something you already have). Now, the reason why some countries and regulatory bodies were against this is because they saw it as too similar to casino spins. Naturally, they assumed that this served as a gateway into betting. Still, there are others who claim that there’s nothing more here than a moral panic.

The randomness of it all gives one a thrill of the unknown. Sure, most of the time, it’s nothing, but all the amazing potential outcomes will come rushing through your mind at the same time, and in this one second, while you’re waiting for the unboxing animation to finish, you’re the biggest winner in the world.

Moreover, because winning is so hard and, most of the time, the results are lacking, once you do win, the results will feel far more rewarding. Buying something and outright winning it are not the same. This is what attracts people to betting so much: the chance of getting a random win without spending too much effort on it.

3. One more turn 

One of the most interesting phenomena in the video game industry is the concept of one more turn, which eerily reminds us of the “one more spin” mentality. The way this works is fairly simple – all the time, you’re just waiting for the next stage of the game to start.

Naturally, this is the most common turn-based strategy, such as the Civilization series or the Total War series, although it’s not that uncommon in the 4X genre as a whole. The situation is as follows – you need to complete that one objective that will allow you to do something else. 

For instance, you need to research one technology that will allow you to build ships that you can use to colonize the next island. The colonization of that next island is important because it has the resources that you lack to build a unit that will allow you to start a war against the neighboring nation that’s currently outgunning you. As you can see, you have a long-term plan, but there are so many steps to go. 

This makes it so hard to set clear objectives. At the moment, you’re just focused on the immediate goal – researching the next tech; however, when you reach this goal, you won’t feel like you’ve completed anything. Why? Well, because the next goal has just been unlocked, you need to complete that, too.

Just think about casino games and ask yourself one thing – is there really (be honest) a point after which you’re done? Is there a figure after which you’ve completed your betting arc and you no longer have to play? 

Of course not; there’s only another spin and another turn. 

4. Near misses

Missing by a mile is completely discouraging, and it can make people give up entirely. At the same time, missing by just a little can make you return over and over again. This is true in casinos and video games. 

Now, video games have one more tactic: making you go back out there and gear up in order to stand a better chance. A casino makes you deposit more and go for more skins. This is the casino equivalent of gearing up.

The thing is that we use the term spin very liberally. This is because, with online casinos, the game is just a UI. There’s no physical device, and both poker and roulette come down to odds and a mathematical equation. It’s all really just reskinned RNG. 

Giving people serotonin hits is what both video games and casinos are all about

Video games need to keep people playing, just like casinos. Sure, the outcome is not the same, and the societal impact may differ; however, the tactics applied are, for the most part, quite similar. Instant gratification through a serotonin boost that encourages more spins, more turns, and more time invested.