by Bob Carson

Editor’s Note: The USTA website is pleased to present freelance writer Bob Carson and his popular “Outside the Box” features. This monthly series is a menu of outlandish proposals presented with a wink — but the purpose behind them is serious. The views contained in this column are that of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the United States Trotting Association.

Bob Carson

Why do people gamble?

Should a random group of people turn off their cell phones and have a dialogue about the subject of why people gamble, their thoughts would be predictable:

“It’s exciting.”

“It’s the thrill of winning.”

“There is pleasure in outsmarting other players.”

“It’s easy money.”

“It’s a macho thing.”

“It’s a bit of an adventure, taking a risk is a little dangerous.”

No doubt, you could add your thoughts to these reasons that gambling appeals to so many people.

Reading studies about the psychology involved in gambling and gaming is fascinating. Researchers probe to find the reasons why people play. There are different types of gambling with different types of people who have multiple motivations for taking a risk. Our brothers and sisters in the gambling and gaming industries invest heavily in analyzing their customers to improve their product in order to reap and keep players, always searching for triggers and methods that inspire players.

One of the key answers to the complex problem of why people gamble and game might surprise you.

“People are in pain and certain modes of games and gambling temporarily relieve their pain.”

Reading this theory seemed ludicrous, but then I mentally thought about the people in my life who gamble regularly. The friends and relatives in my particular sphere that gamble are: one who has a difficult marriage, one who is dealing with a serious medical condition, one struggling with adjusting to retirement, and one who is lonely. None of these steady gamblers chooses horse racing as an outlet to ease their pain. Instead, casinos, bingo and online gaming are their medications of choice.

In his 2014 book, Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products, Nir Eyal (a tech entrepreneur) laid out his “Hook Model” of product development that works on basic behaviorist principles. His model of successful product design is a loop going from “trigger” to “action” to “variable reward” to “investment” and back again. He writes, “As product designers, it is our goal to solve these problems and eliminate pain…users who find a product that alleviates their pain will form strong, positive associations with that product over time.”

The task of gamer and gambling designers is to lead players into the zone, a state of mind where hyper-focused, neurotransmitters are buzzing but directed toward numbness. With no goal in particular, these players just want to lose themselves. Money plays a small part in their motivation.
Getting players into a zone is a problem for horse racing.

In the old world, players (horse racing handicappers) were not overly stimulated. The zone for these people was in studying the program and outsmarting other players. In the new world, time and attention spans are short and the zone for these people is in repetition and action.

In leading players to the zone, rate of play or frequency of reward is important. Money and winning or losing are not of extreme relevance. Perhaps we should design some racing products that would entice gamblers to enter a “racing zone.”

A very crude prototype would find a player, let’s call him Jerry, sitting at his computer, IPad or cell phone depositing a hundred dollars and clicking onto today’s continuous, high rate of play, horse racing reel.

The reel is non-stop play that is based on many principles of slot machines but requires some decision making. The concept is a non-stop loop of races with a high frequency of modest reward. The idea is straightforward. When Jerry hits “play five dollars,” he has a split screen with two items — a countdown clock of less than one minute linked to a racetrack, and a series of buttons equal to the number of horses in the upcoming race.

Jerry taps number six.

His screen dissolves and the racetrack appears as the horses approach the starting gate. The race goes off. Should the number six horse win, or finish second or third, Jerry doubles his five dollars. Any other finish and he loses his five dollars.

Speed of play is the new aspect.

Immediately after the posting of the official results, Jerry gets a flashing cue. The screen reads, “You Won” or “You Lost.”

Within ten seconds, another race appears with the clock ticking. Jerry does not have time to overthink. He quickly makes his number selection and repeats the process. Jerry does not need to toggle between sites. The races appear as quickly and as frequently as the wagers at a roulette wheel spun by a pit boss or the fruit spinning on a machine. If the races recur with enough frequency, Jerry can slip into a comfortable zone.

Yes, this “slot machine mentality” is uncomfortable for horse racing purists. Luring people to mindlessness feels wrong; it is not what we are. Researcher Eyal agrees and shares this discomfort, but he puts a different spin (pardon the pun) on our thinking by stating that, in a sense, “Everything functions like a slot machine.”

“Everything that engages us, all pieces of content are engineered to be interesting,” he said. “Movies aren’t real life, books aren’t real life, and a magazine article isn’t real life; they are manufactured to pull us one sentence after another through mystery, through the unknown.”

Reluctantly, we must look at horse racing products that lure gamblers into that zone, that give them respite from pain. Horse racing must reach these people because the sheer volume of gamblers that prefer this type of gambling holds revenue streams that will allow traditional handicappers to continue to play. We must learn to co-exist with gamblers who play for different reasons.

Should we successfully “reel in” players like Jerry, it will be good medicine for all concerned.