But once he started playing slots he couldn’t stop. He was a husband and father with a senior role in accounting and no known problems aside from gambling. Stevens’ case is particularly tragic: he embezzled from his employer and eventually committed suicide. In the extreme cases, such as Scott Stevens of Ohio, things can quickly spiral out of control. Such players have very high losses which cause very significant negative consequences for them and their families.

Approximately 50% of slot machine revenue is derived from players with moderate and severe gambling problems, who make up only 3%-4% of the general population. Of greatest concern are players with a gambling problem, or those who may develop a problem in the future. For many patrons casino gambling is much more expensive than going to big-name concerts or professional sporting events such as the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, or Patriots. This is a very high cost of entertainment for what would appear to many as a relatively low wager per spin and relatively small number of hours per week.

Time on device slot machine