How new psychology has changed design of casinos advice, Venetian in Macau building, Alea Casino on River Clyde Glasgow
How New Psychology Has Changed The Planning and Design of Casinos
13 Jan 2020
How New Psychology Has Changed The Planning and Design of Casinos
Psychology Changed Casino Design
Casinos are usually housed in attractive and impressive buildings. That’s true regardless if it’s the stunning Venetian in Macau, or if it’s something closer to home like the Alea Casino on the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland. The psychology behind it is quite simple to understand; it’s meant to impress us, overwhelm us, allure us and dazzle us in equal measure.
However, for years we have been told that the psychology of the casino continues inside the building: No natural light inside; no clocks on the wall; haphazard floor design that gives the player the sense of being lost; the cacophony of sounds emanating from the machines; and, even the fabled oxygen being pumped into the room to keep people alert.
Casino design is changing inside and out
The above has entered into the mythos of casino lore. Much of it is, of course, true, although perhaps exaggerated at times. However, there has been a shift in thinking in recent years, and the idea of the confusing casino has mainly been dismissed as the way to go by casino psychologists. As you would imagine, that has had an impact on the way casinos are being designed and refurbished.
The most prominent proponent of the ‘old’ psychology was Bill Friedman, who taught casino management at Nevada University. Friedman wrote influential books on the industry, with his main argument pointing to an approach of ‘gaming design’. In short, it covered a lot of the stuff mentioned above, putting games front and centre of our senses and trapping us within the maze of the casino floor.
However, the new psychology effectively says the opposite. Create a calming atmosphere, one that is not dominated by the games. Why? Because the science dictates that being calm and comfortable will encourage as to gamble more than feeling lost or confounded.
Every aspect designed to be subtler
From a design standpoint, that means an end to the mazes of gaming tables and slot machines, not to mention the addition of things like natural light, artwork. Even the games, which were designed to be boisterously noisy and in your face, have become more subtle, as you can see when you try these new games at this online casino. Overall, the aim is to get you to relax, and the financial results have shown that when we are at ease in our surroundings, we are more likely to spend money.
There is, however, another bit of psychology at play, which is based around our hopes of attainment. Essentially, the concept is to surround the players with luxury, and there is thus a subtle nudge towards playing casino games as the solution to attaining that luxury. That psychology starts before you enter the casino building with the impressive architecture we mentioned earlier. But it goes beyond that, with a feeling of luxury embedded within every aspect of the interior design.
One would argue that such luxury has always been present in places like Monte Carlo, but increasingly we see it in the vast resorts of Las Vegas, Nevada, USa, and Macau, eastern Asia. Consider the beautiful displays that permeate through casinos like the Venetian, Bellagio and the Wynn. It confounds our senses in a different way than the rowdy and cacophonous settings of the past. Will it mean that one day we see and end it to the neon signs? Perhaps not just yet.
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