Abstracts
Abstract
Slot machines are recognized as a particularly risky form of gambling. However, there is a form of slot machine consumption that seems to have largely escaped the notice of regulators and scholars: the streaming of slot machine play on YouTube and other platforms. In this article, we present the results of our qualitative study of 21 slot machine videos. Our study examines how these videos portray gambling and how they align with the norms of YouTube’s platform economy. Our analysis underscores the representation of slot machine gambling in this under-regulated media, emphasizing different tactics of viewer manipulation. We introduce the concept of interpassive gambling to reflect the ways that user-generated videos are a form of diffusion of gambling mechanics beyond traditional gambling venues. We conclude by calling for more scholarly and regulatory attention to this gamblified site of media consumption.
Keywords:
- Gambling-related media,
- Slot machines,
- YouTube,
- User generated content,
- Interpassivity,
- gamblification
Appendices
Bibliography
- Abarbanel, B., Gainsbury, S. M., King, D., Hing, N., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2016). Gambling games on social platforms: How do advertisements for social casino games target young adults? Policy & Internet, 9(2), 184–209. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.135
- Arbanel, B., & Johnson, M. R. (2020). Gambling engagement mechanisms in Twitch live streaming. International Gambling Studies, 20(3), 393-413. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2020.1766097
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Burgess, J., & Green, J. (2018). YouTube: Online video and participatory culture (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
- Chandler, D., & Munday, R. (2020). A Dictionary of Media and Communication (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780198841838.001.0001
- Davoudi, M., Shirvani, S., Foroughi, A., & Rajaeiramsheh, F. (2022). Online Gambling in Iranian social media users: Prevalence, related variables and psychiatric correlations. Journal of Gambling Studies, 38, 397–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10020-7
- Delfabbro, P. H., & Winefield, A. H. (1999). Poker-machine gambling: An analysis of within session characteristics. British Journal of Psychology, 90(3), 425–439. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712699161503
- Dixon, M. J., Fugelsang, J. A., MacLaren, V. V., & Harrigan, K. A. (2013). Gamblers can discriminate 'tight' from 'loose' electronic gambling machines. International gambling studies, 13(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2012.712151
- Dowling, N., Smith, D., & Thomas, T. (2005). Electronic gaming machines: Are they the 'crack-cocaine' of gambling? Addiction, 100(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.00962.x
- Dufour, M., Morvannou, A., Laverdière, É., Brunelle, N., Kairouz, S., Nolin, M.-A., Nadeau, L., Dussault, F., & Berbiche, D. (2020). Once online poker, always online poker? Poker modality trajectories over two years. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 11, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100251
- Emond, A. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Gambling in children and adolescents. British Medical Bulletin, 136(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa027
- Facebook. (2021, September 13). Advertising Policies. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/
- Gambling Commission. (2021). Industry Statistics: May 2021. Gambling Commission. https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-may-2021
- Gekker, A. (2018). Let's not play: Interpassivity as resistance in 'Let's Play' videos. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 10(3), 219–242. https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw.10.3.219_1
- Glas, R. (2015). Vicarious play: Engaging the viewer in Let's Play videos. Empedocles: European Journal for the philosophy of communication, 5(1-2), 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1386/ejpc.5.1-2.81_1
- Google Support. (2021, August 4). Gambling and Games. Advertising Policies Help. https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6018017?hl=en
- Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The psychosocial impact of professional gambling, gaming, professional video gaming and eSports. Casino & Gaming International, 28, 59–63. http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30079/
- Hahmann, T., & Monson, E. (2021). Rationalization as a dissonance management strategy among electronic gambling machine players. Critical gambling studies, 2(1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs32
- Hancock, L., & Smith, G. (2017). Critiquing the Reno Model I-IV International Influence on Regulators and Governments (2004-2015) - The Distorted Reality of 'Responsible Gambling'. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 15, 1151–1176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9746-y
- Hoebanx, P. (2022). What shapes the internet? An overview of social science and interdisciplinary perspectives. Sociology Compass, 16(10), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13032
- Hou, M. (2019). Social media celebrity and the institutionalization of YouTube. Convergence, 25(3), 534–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517750368
- Kozinets, R. V. (2015). Netnography: Redefined (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
- Lavoie, R. V., & Main, K. J. (2019). When losing money and time feels good: The paradoxical role of flow in gambling. Journal of Gambling Issues, 41, 53–72. https://doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2019.41.4
- Loto Quebec. (2014, December 17). Code of advertising standards. Loto Quebec. https://societe.lotoquebec.com/dam/jcr:7117da11-4175-4c05-844a-5b9397c13abe/OPE-35-code-of-advertising-standards.pdf
- Macey, J., & Hamari, J. (2022). Gamblification: A definition. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221083903
- MacLaren, V. V. (2016). Video lottery is the most harmful form of gambling in Canada. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32, 459–485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9560-z
- Marshall, K. (2011). Gambling 2011. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-001-x/2011004/article/11551-eng.htm
- McDonald, K. (2016, October 18). Inside YouTube's neon hive of Vegas slot machine videos: Spinning reels with the auteurs who stare at slot machines. Daily dot. https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/slot-machine-youtube-las-vegas/
- Montes, K. S., & Weatherly, J. N. (2017). Differences in the gambling behavior of online and non-online student gamblers in a controlled laboratory environment. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33, 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9613-y
- Murch, W. S., & Clark, L. (2021). Understanding the slot machine zone. Current Addiction Reports, 8, 214–224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00371-x
- Nicoll, F. (2011). On blowing up the pokies: The Pokie Lounge as a cultural site of neoliberal governmentality in Australia. Cultural Studies Review, 17(2), 219–256. https://doi.org/10.5130/csr.v17i2.1729
- Nicoll, F. (2019). Gambling in Everyday Life: Spaces. Moments and Products of Enjoyment. Routledge.
- Nicoll, F., & Akcayir, M. (2020). Editorial. Critical Gambling Studies, 1(1), i-vii. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs47
- Nicoll, F., & Johnson, M. R. (2019, August 21). The Walking Dead: Conflicts of interest in game reviewing. Critical Gambling Studies, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs11
- Pfaller, R. (1996, October 8-10). Die Dinge lachen an unsere Stelle. Linz, Austria.
- Pfaller, R. (2017). Interpassivity: The aesthetics of delegated enjoyment. Edinburgh University Press.
- Postigo, H. (2016). The socio-technical architecture of digital labor: Converting play into YouTube money. New Media & Society, 18(2), 332–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814541527
- Productivity Commission. (2010). Gambling: Productivity Commission Inquiry Report Gambling Volume 1. Australian Government Productivity Commission. https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/gambling-2010/report/gambling-report-volume1.pdf
- Raun, T. (2018). Capitalizing intimacy: New subcultural forms of micro-celebrity strategies and affective labour on YouTube. Convergence, 24(1), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517736983
- Reith, G. (1999). The age of chance: Gambling in Western culture. Routledge.
- Reynolds, J., Kairouz, S., Ilacqua, S., & French, M. (2020). Responsible Gambling: A Scoping Review. Critical Gambling Studies, 1(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs42
- Savard, A.-C., Bouffard, M., Laforge, J-P, & Kairouz, S. (2022). Social representations of responsibility in gambling among young gamblers: Control yourself, know the rules, do not become addicted, and enjoy the game. Critical gambling studies, 3(1), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs88
- Schölzel, H. (2017). Backing away from circles of control: A re-reading of interpassivity theory's perspectives on the current political culture of participation. Empedocles: European journal for the philosophy of communication, 8(2), 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1386/ejpc.8.2.187_1
- Schüll, N. D. (2012). Addiction by design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas. Princeton University Press.
- Snircek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. John Wiley & Sons.
- Van Oenen, G. (2008). Interpassivity revisited: A critical and historical reappraisal of interpassive phenomena. International Journal of Žižek Studies, 2(2), 1–16. http://zizekstudies.org/index.php/IJZS/article/view/80/77
- YouTube Creators. (2020, April 16). Monetization in YouTube Studio: Using Mid-roll Ads in Long Videos. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vbm0b26kng&t=97s
- YouTube Help. (2021a, September 13). YouTube Partnern Program Overview & Eligibility. YouTube Help. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72851?hl=en
- YouTube Help. (2021b, September 13). YouTube's Community Guidelines. YouTube Help. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9288567
- Zanescu, A., French, M., & Lajeunesse, M. (2021). Betting on DOTA 2's Battle Pass: Gamblification and productivity in play. New Media & Society, 23(10), 2882–2901. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820941381
- Zendle, D. (2019). Gambling-like video game practices: A cross-sectional study of links with problem gambling and disordered gaming. PsyArXiv. Retrieved from https://psyarxiv.com/fh3vx
- Žižek, S. (1998). The interpassive subject. Traverses, 1–18.