Fair and easy: the effect of perceived fairness, effort expectancy and user experience on online slot machine gambling intention

ABSTRACT

The growth of online gambling necessitates that both marketers and regulators have a better understanding of the gambling intention of players. Perceived fairness of customers towards operators has often been raised as a concern in the industry, but it has received limited attention in research on gambling intention. Theories that seek to explain purchase intention are considered and a model is proposed that investigates the role and impact that perceived fairness and system effort expectancy have on online gambling intention together with the moderating influence of user experience. Data from 255 online gambling customers are gathered and analysed using Hayes PROCESS analyses. Results indicate that perceived fairness impacts gambling intention directly, and indirectly strengthening the effect of effort expectancy on gambling intention. However, user experience weakens both these impacts. The research provides support for the inclusion of perceived fairness in theories that consider drivers of online gambling intention. In addition, the important role that perceived fairness plays offers support for gambling regulators who in recent years have sought to promote a fairer and more transparent deal to players. Firms in the online gambling industry can also look positively at activities enhancing fairness as its promotion can also enhance their performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Perceived fairness
• effort expectancy
• user experience
• gambling intention
• online gambling

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank ALEA, owners of the brand Slotsmillion.com, for the support provided in the collection of the data and for meeting the cost of the free spins incentive provided to players who completed the questionnaire for this research.

Conflicts of interestFunding sources

This work has not received any external funding.

Competing interests

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and our ethical obligation as researchers, we confirm that at no point did the supporting company influence or guide the authors’ research.

Constraints on publishing

There are no constraints on publishing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jirka Konietzny

Jirka KONIETZNY is a PhD student at the Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences at Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. He is currently also working in CRM for a gambling company in Malta.

Albert Caruana

Albert CARUANA PhD is professor of marketing at the University of Malta, and at the University of Bologna, Italy. His research interests focus primarily on marketing communications and services marketing. His work includes papers in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing and Industrial Marketing Management.