Could the provision of multiple game themes be a neglected gambling product structural characteristic? Results of an online simulated gambling task

Previous research has indicated that several gambling product features, such as slot games’ fast potential speed of play, are potentially harmful ‘structural characteristics’. However, we know of little empirical research exploring whether the provision of multiple themes for slot games could be considered another relevant structural characteristic. We therefore explored this game feature in a simulated online experiment (N = 990). Compared to the provision of only a single game theme, providing multiple themes could lead to greater persistence among all gamblers (H1), could increase persistence among those at most risk of harm (H2), could influence persistence or lead to switching during periods of losses (H3), or influence participants’ desire to play again (H4). However, this experiment yielded either largely null (H1, H2, H4) or contradictory results (H3), where participants were found to be more likely to persist after losses than after wins. In conclusion, the present study’s predictions were not supported, meaning that there was no evidence that multiple themes affected slot behavior in this task.