The convergence of play: interrelations of social casino gaming, gambling, and digital gaming in Finland

ABSTRACT

This study provides an overview of the interactions between the playing of digital games, gambling activities and Social Casino Games (SCG) in the Finnish context. Earlier studies of SCG playing have predominantly focused on US and Australian markets, and have not included digital gaming in examinations. This study uses cross-tabulation to analyze data from a nationally representative survey (n = 946). SCG play was found to be associated with lower levels of educational attainment, younger males, increased digital game play, gambling in digital games, increased use of free-to-play (F2P) games, and microtransactions. Finally, positive associations were found to exist with established forms of gambling, both online and offline. The findings of this research contribute to the understanding of growing convergence between digital gaming and gambling as it is the first to consider digital game play, SCG play and participation in gambling holistically. It found stronger associations between digital game play and SCG play than between gambling consumption and SCG play, thereby highlighting the importance of context in relationships between digital game consumption and gambling. Furthermore, younger generations of Finns are likely to experience convergent gambling-gaming elements in digital gaming platforms and online environments before engaging in traditional gambling activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Convergence
• social casino games
• gambling
• digital games
• online environments

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.

Competing interests

The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Constraints on publishing

The authors declare that no constraints on publishing exist.

Data availability statement

The data upon which this research is based is available from the authors upon receipt of reasonable request.

Notes

1. Please note that these categorizations are neither exhaustive, nor mutually-exclusive.

2. Detailed information about the survey can be found from the English-language summary (Kinnunen et al., 2018).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies and The Academy of Finland (Center of Excellence in Game Culture Studies). At no point were the funding bodies, or any other project partners, involved in: the design of the study; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; the writing of the report; or decisions relating to submissions.

Notes on contributors

Joseph Macey

Joseph Macey is a doctoral researcher at the Gamification Group, Tampere University whose works focuses on the emergent phenomenon of video game-related gambling. His wider research interests also include the interaction between consumption of different forms of media, adverse social behavior online, problematic media consumption, and the cognitive biases of media users. He has been a regular advisor to the Finnish Gambling Administration (Arpajaishallinto), and has been an invited Speaker at the Gambling Regulators of Europe Forum and the Nordic Society Foundation for Information about Problem Gambling Conference. In the past three years he has worked on projects funded by Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (TEKES, now Business Finland) and received two personal grants from The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies.

Jani Kinnunen

Jani Kinnunen is a doctoral researcher in the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at Tampere University. His work is focused on social interaction connected with gambling and digital gaming and on qualities of playing money and game currencies. He has been working in research projects funded by the Academy of Finland and have received funding also from Kone Foundation, The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies and The University of Tampere Foundation.