Gambling: An operant conditioning example and a short class activity

written by Sue Frantz | August 30, 2026

In talking about operant conditioning, I used to give the example of a slot machine as a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement and call it a day. I was wrong.

The typical description: Keep pushing the slot machine button and eventually you’ll win. That win positively reinforces button pushing. Push more buttons, get more wins. 

However, many slot machine users are not pushing the button to get the win. Instead, they push buttons to enter a zone where they don’t have to think about whatever negative stuff is happening in their lives. Each button push is negatively reinforced with the continued absence of negative emotions (Schüll, 2014). In other words, slot machine button pushing behavior is negatively reinforced on a continuous schedule of reinforcement.

In casino advertising, they show one or more people looking at a slot machine and cheering, presumably because the player has just won. Have you been inside a casino—or the Las Vegas airport? People playing slots play solo and are sitting there emotionlessly. You wouldn’t even know it if they won. The slot machine manufacturers used to have lots of bells and whistles when a player won. The feedback from players was to reduce the amount of time it took for the machine to celebrate the win. Players said that waiting for the machine to be ready for the next play was taking too long; the players fell out of the zone and back into their lives (Schüll, 2014). Winning at slots is not really a reinforcer. Winning just means being able to continue to receive negative reinforcement for button-pushing through the absence of negative emotion.

Incidentally, slot machines make up about 80% of casino revenue. In the U.S., in the second quarter of 2026, slot machines brought in $9.77 billion. In contrast, table games brought in $2.6 billion (American Gaming Association, 2026). And that was just in one quarter.

When slot machines require cash or tokens, at some point a player will run out. They can keep playing, but they have to get up from their stool and go to an ATM or to a machine that dispenses slot machine tokens. Those who work in the area of behavioral change call this a friction point. The player can continue to play, but for at least a brief period of time they have to stop. In this pause, the player has a minute to reflect on what they are doing. They have to make a decision. Return to the slot machine or quit.

As casinos go cashless (and tokenless), the friction is greatly reduced (Danzis, 2026). Need more money? Tap your phone and money is subtracted from your checking account and added to your casino account. No need to even stand up. The Nevada Gaming Control Board is currently evaluating the TrustedTap app. If approved, Nevada casinos can have their patrons buy casino dollars through the app. The casino can then, if they so desire, set limits on how much a person can gamble in a given time period (Danzis, 2026). If implemented, this could create an enforced hard stop. It would be even better if individuals could set these limits for themselves. For example, a person could set their 24-hour limit at $300. If they gamble away those $300 in two hours, they cannot add any more money to their account for another 22 hours.

For a person playing slots or other table games at a brick-and-mortar casino, there are other friction points besides needing to have money available. For example, at some point, the player has to go pee. (Even someone wearing an adult diaper has to change it at some point!)

Online gaming doesn’t even have the need-to-pee friction point. You can take your phone with you to the bathroom.

Forget about slots. Betting on sports or other events does operate on a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement. The more bets you place, the faster you will get to a win, but who knows how much money you will lose to get there.

Any online gaming platform that provides live betting can drain a wallet in a hurry. Prediction markets, such as Polymarket and Kalshi, allow gamblers to place a bet—sorry, a “trade”—on just about anything. As other bets roll in, the value of what you have changes. You can hold onto what you have, buy more at the new price, or sell. Just like the stock market. One big difference though. The stock market is regulated, and in the U.S. insider trading is a federal crime.

And then there are sports betting platforms that allow microbetting, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. As I type, in Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are playing. (Polymarket reports that $1.64 million dollars is currently wagered on this game.) In FanDuel, Yankees player Spencer Jones will soon be making his second plate appearance. I can bet that he will a) get a single, b) get an extra base hit, c) walk or get hit by a pitch, d) strike out, or e) something else. And after placing that bet, I can move on to the next player. For each half inning, for example, I can bet on how many strikeouts there will be. This is just a sample.

Discussion

After sharing these examples with students, ask your students by a show of hands (or other vote-taking method) who knows someone that they think may have a gambling problem. Next, give students a few minutes to work in small groups to identify resources in your community 1) to help gamblers who would like to stop, and 2) to help friends and family who want to help a loved one stop gambling. (Yes, use of AI is fine, but students need to review the resources generated to ensure that they are appropriate.) Give your groups an opportunity to share with the class the best resources that they found. Collect all of them and combine the best into a single print handout to distribute to your students in your next class session.

References

American Gaming Association. (2026, August 26). Commercial gaming revenue tracker. https://www.americangaming.org/resources/commercial-gaming-revenue-tracker/

Danzis, D. (2026, August 28). As Las Vegas casinos go cashless, it’s getting easier to keep gambling. Las Vegas Review-Journal. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/as-las-vegas-casinos-go-cashless-its-getting-easier-to-keep-gambling-3870964/

Schüll, N. D. (2014). Addiction by design: Machine gambling in Las Vegas. Princeton University Press.