Everyone likes slots’ background music, right? Well, turns out there is a reason behind it. According to numerous researches, iGaming software developers use sounds and sound effects to make slots more appealing to gamblers.
Of course, jackpots play a huge role in how much we enjoy playing a certain slot, but studies show that music is a vital factor, too. In the following article, we will focus on the way casinos and iGaming software developers use sounds to affect our gambling habits, making us want to gamble more in spite of losses.
Casinos and “elevator music”
Everyone knows that casinos have to create a leisurely atmosphere for gamblers to feel comfortable while gaming. To do that, operators maintain an ideal temperature, dim the lights, and even use different relaxing scents, too. What most do not realise, however, is that even the music operators utilise aims to make punters relax and spend more time in the casino.
Muzak, also known as elevator music, is a type of unobtrusive background music, commonly used in elevators and lifts. And, apparently, in land-based casinos as well; at least during the day. At night, operators prefer to use popular pop and rock tracks in order to excite players.
Online casinos like Casino Games Pro, on the other hand, cannot take advantage of elevator music. That is largely because online punters tend to listen to the music they like while gaming, which makes the introduction of Muzak virtually pointless.
So, to make their gamblers want to spend more, online casinos rely on the background music in games, especially in slots.
The music of slots
Slots remain the most popular casino game, both in land-based gaming establishments and at their web-based counterparts. What makes punters choose slots is that no skills are required to play, there are mind-blowing jackpots, and, of course, there is the music that stimulates gamblers to play for hours on end.
We all know the sounds of slots – the bells, the klaxon-like sounds when a jackpot is hit, the lights – everything stimulates punters. But there is a sound which triggers us more than any other sound of slots – the key of C.
According to a Finnish study, the key of C dramatically influences punters’ emotional state, instilling feelings of happiness as well as nostalgia. No wonder why you have been hearing the chord increasingly nowadays – more and more iGaming software companies program the sound in their online and land-based casino games.
Of course, the chord of C is not the only sound gambling software companies utilise to affect our emotions and make us gamble more – every time players win (even if the win is smaller than the stake), they can hear triumphant sounds, bells and buzzes. These sounds have two purposes – excite the “winner” and stimulate them to gamble more, as well as attract new players. On top of this, some slots at land-based gaming venues still have coin rewarding systems to excite players as they hear the sound of falling coins.
In total, the modern-day slot machine boasts over 400 sound effects, all of which are designed to excite and stimulate players to keep on gambling, regardless of the losses.
When it comes to companies which affect our gambling behaviour via sound effects, it is believed that NetEnt is the iGaming software company that employs the tactic in a most professional way. According to experts, NetEnt boasts a team that specialises in programming slot games’ sounds. What makes NetEnt casino game music unique is that it follows the game progress – when players are close to winning, the music gets intense; when the slot yields a bigger win, the music amplifies, etc.
The music disguises losses
According to a research conducted by Waterloo University professor Mike Dixon and his team, the music of slots makes players think they win more than they actually do. The team asked participants to play a number of slot games first with sound and then without and then try to estimate in which games they had won. Not surprisingly, when punters played slots without sounds, they were less enthusiastic about the games. What surprised researchers, however, was that when punters played without sound, they were able to estimate their wins and losses more accurately.
Participants estimated they had won 33 times while playing without sound – they had won 28 times. When they played with sound, however, they reported having won 36 times, whereas the true figure was 28 again.
What Professor Dixon and his team concluded was that losses remain unacknowledged, as punters are distracted by all the sound and visual effects. Not only are losses unacknowledged, though – in fact, they are disguised as wins – remember, players hear winning sounds even when they win a sum far smaller than their stake. On top of all, slot games’ sound effects ultimately increase the risk of gambling addiction.
