Casino Slot Machine Volatility: Determining game volatility through customer behavior and gambling experience

Authors’ Note: In this fourth article in of our 12 part series on customer centric gaming floors, we will examine game volatility and its use as an analytic tool in the casino of the future. Please note these articles are meant to stimulate thought and that we are using some deliberately provocative metaphors and examples which should be taken with a grain of salt. By Andrew Cardno

Dr Thomas co-authored this article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ralph-thomas-12a469a

Slot machine volatility typically refers to the amount of risk in a specific game: a game with infrequent large payouts is considered very volatile while a game with frequent small payouts is less volatile.

But as its very name connotes, volatility fluctuates often and can be influenced by a number of different factors. For instance, a normally less volatile game can see its volatility increase dramatically if it is linked to an extremely high jackpot. Similarly, on an individual game basis, a player can change a slot’s volatility simply by betting more or less lines on the game, impacting the size and chance of a payout.

All this means careful consideration must be paid to the pay table as player choice can dramatically impact volatility. For example, in a classic game like Double Diamond with no progressive payout, the amount of the payout is correlated with the amount gambled, and the prize for a two-coin bet is double the prize for a one-coin bet. But in Wheel of Fortune and similar games, the size of the payout can be vastly different for a maximum three-coin bet vs a one-coin bet as it takes a maximum bet to qualify for the top prize.

So to get a true measure of game volatility, understanding the player experience for individual players is critical. The player experience is a mixture of both the volatility of the game and the volatility of their betting patterns. In other words, players have a direct impact on the risk they are taking in the game and the nature of their gaming experience.

For the full article and details on how to do this goto: https://www.casinojournal.com/articles/90616-determining-game-volatility-through-customer-behavior-and-gambling-experience