One of the prevailing beliefs about social casino games is that they are harmful to young people by normalising gambling. While many parents cite this supposed fact, there is no research behind it.

Recently, a study by Harvest Strategy has refuted this position, finding that there is no link between social gaming and the development of compulsive gambling habits.

The Study

Commissioned by the International Social Games Association, the study was carried out by Harvest Strategy with the goal of better understanding the link between social casinos and gambling behaviour.

It is one of the first studies of its kind, and sheds light on this important topic.

Social Gaming Demographics

The study looked at 12 million players at social casinos (referred to as ‘diģsinos’ in the report) from across Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It found that 99% of the players at these sites are adults. Just 505 players at diģsinos were youths.

On average, adults playing these games spent $6.16 per day and youths spent $3.96 per day, their low levels of spending suggesting that they play these games solely for fun.

Relation to Problem Gambling

The research team was unable to find any evidence that supports the notion that social casinos influence actual gambling behaviour. Proving this point are statistics relating to problem gambling and the emergence of social gaming. Social games hit the online market within the past ten years and reached their peak of popularity within the past five.

However, problem gambling rates have been one the decline since 1999. In the UK, rates fell from 0.7% to 0.5% during this time. In Australia, rates dropped from 1.50% to 0.5%.

The study reads: “Not only is this relationship unsupported by evidence but the underpinning logic of pathological progressive in behavioural addictions is theoretically deficient and we do not know any empirical substantiation of pathological progression”

Positive Impacts of Social Casino Games

In addition to refuting the link between social casino games and real-world gambling among youths and problem gamblers, the study noted some positive impacts.

There are some potential benefits to playing free slots and other casino games online, such as building social connections, learning how to gamble responsibly and building attention skills.

Our Thoughts

Obviously, we’re inclined to believe that any research commissioned by the International Social Games Association will offer up positive insights about social gaming. However, the study is very well documented. It does make a great case against problem gambling being linked to social casinos.

To find out more, read A Snapshot of Youth in the Digital Playground: Digsogame and Digsinos.