The psychology of collectibles and achievements in sweepstakes casinos

Psychological Theories Behind the Appeal of Collectibles and Achievements

To keep their players engaged, sweepstakes casinos use the most basic principles of psychology. It’s all based on behavior economics, which acknowledges that people don’t always make decisions based on logic. They will be affected by feelings, cognitive biases and mental shortcuts.

Emotions play an important role in how players behave. The receipt of a payout can trigger the reward systems of the brain, and this reinforcement can make gambling feel like a rewarding experience. Even a near-miss can be motivating, creating a sense of near-winning that keeps players in the game.

Another dangerous emotion is guilt. The desire to make up for a loss can lead you to lose even more money.

Social dynamics also play an important role in online gambling. Getting excited about sharing winnings with friends or fearing missing out can lead to poor decisions.

A cognitive bias is a deviation from the norm or from a rational judgment. For example, players may overestimate their abilities and odds. This can lead to excessive risk-taking.

Another interesting concept is the Gambler’s Fallacy. Here, people make incorrect assumptions based on past results, leading to irrational betting patterns.

In addition, there is the confirmation bias, where gamblers ignore the evidence that they are losing and focus only on the selective wins.

People also tend to rely too much on the first information they get, so they stick with the first bet, even if it doesn’t make sense.

There is also loss aversion, where the pain of losing is greater than the pleasure of winning, causing players to seek losses instead of wins.

Finally, mental shortcuts are used to make decisions easier when we talk about mental shortcuts. Some common ideas are that if someone recently won the jackpot, they can do it too. Also, some people choose to bet based on stereotyping. This leads them to make bets based on superstition or pure luck.

The impact of collectibles and achievements on player behavior

Depending on your personality type, the way in which collectibles and achievements are implemented throughout the game can have a different effect on the player. For instance, if you’re an obsessive perfectionist, and you don’t get all the collectibles the first time through the game, you may want to replay the game to get all the additional achievements.

In addition, according to Bartle’s taxonomy of player types, “Achievers,” who want visible proof of their skills by earning achievement points for completing challenges, and “Explorers,” whose primary motivation is to explore the game world and receive a reward for doing so, will be more interested in collectibles.

Another interesting thing to note is that while collectibles and additional achievements can motivate players to be more engaged with casino games, players have also pointed out negative effects where, in some cases, they can disrupt the game flow and the player’s enjoyment. Therefore, their impact will largely depend on how they are implemented and how engaging they are.

Design strategies for engaging collectibles and achievements

To do a good job with collectibles and achievements, designers need to keep a lot of things in mind. For example, they can’t just add any kind of collectible. They have to be relevant and enjoyable to play.

To be successful, they often use innovative and relevant themes to make them stand out from the crowd. Also, all promotions must be easy to enter. Otherwise, players will not be able to enjoy the game.

Once you have the design down, it’s a good idea to promote the items so that players can easily see them without having to wander around the website. Also, the rules and eligibility criteria need to be very clear so that players have no problems understanding what to do.

Collectibles need to be balanced, not too powerful or weak, and don’t make some older items redundant, or players will be unhappy.

Also, the random drops shouldn’t be too random, but should be guaranteed, like every 25th drop guaranteeing a powerful item. It is also good to have limited time offers, such as Christmas and Halloween themed offers, to keep players interested.

Ethical considerations and the future of collectibles in gaming

The ethics of gamification are a matter of debate. Some are of the opinion that these reward systems have a positive effect on people, even triggering feel-good chemical reactions. However, many believe that gamification is simply a way to manipulate user behavior.

This is why developers need to get their games certified as ethical to play. It builds trust and credibility with players and demonstrates a commitment to responsible gaming.

Some love collectibles, others hate them. The truth of the matter is they are here to stay. In addition, there are many who believe that the future of collectibles lies in NFTS (non-fungible tokens). They offer the ability to create and own digital assets in a way that has never been possible before.

There will be some challenges in implementing them, but they can help take the digital gaming world to a whole new level, so they seem worth the effort.

Sources

• Richards, M. The Psychology Of Gambling: Behavioral Economics Insights. Welp Magazine.
• Belegisanin, J. (2023, Aug 15). Gamification and Psychological Engagement in Online Casinos (2024). RiChannel.
• Liu, Y. (2023, July 20). Do Players Really Need Trophies: Achievement System and Game Motivations. Game Developer.
• (2012, May 18). The Future of Gamification. Pew Research Center.