Who Spends Money to Play for Free? Identifying Who Makes Micro-transactions on Social Casino Games (and Why)

• Published in: Journal of gambling studies Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 525 - 538
• Main Authors: Kim, Hyoun S., Hollingshead, Samantha, Wohl, Michael J. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Behavior, Addictive - economics; Behavior, Addictive - psychology; Casinos; Community and Environmental Psychology; Competitiveness; Desire; Economics; Female; Gambling; Gambling - epidemiology; Gambling - psychology; Games; Humans; Impulsive Behavior - physiology; Impulsivity; Individual differences; Individuality; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Money; Motivation; Motivation - physiology; Networking; Original Paper; Pathological gambling; Psychiatry; Reward; Social networks; Sociology; Transactions; Micro-transactions; Freemium games; Social casino games; Virtual credits
• ISSN: 1573-3602; 1573-3602
• DOI: 10.1007/s10899-016-9626-6

Social casino games are online gambling-like games found on social networking sites. They are initially free to play, however, players are encouraged to make micro-transactions (i.e., in-game purchases) for additional game credits or functionality. As a result, they generate billions of dollars in revenue. Yet, little is known as to
who
purchases virtual credits, let alone
why
. In the present research, we assessed whether there are individual differences (impulsivity, reward sensitivity, competitiveness, and problem gambling severity) between who is and who is not likely to make micro-transactions during social casino game play. Moreover, we examined possible motivations for making micro-transactions (e.g., extend play, win back lost credits) and whether the individual difference variables of interest predict reported motivation(s) for making micro-transactions. Results showed that social casino gamers who engaged in micro-transactions reported significantly higher levels of impulsivity, reward sensitivity and problem gambling severity, but not competitiveness. In terms of motivation to make micro-transactions, desire to extend play was endorsed most frequently, followed by a desire to access additional features, chasing lost credits, and to speed up play. Lastly, among participants who made micro-transactions, reward sensitivity predicted making micro-transactions to chase lost credits. These results suggest the personality make-up of social casino gamers is important to understand who is likely to make micro-transactions as well as their motivation to do so—information that could prove useful for regulation of the industry.