There has been a lot of research into how music affects the mood. Human beings associate certain musical cues or even full songs with certain emotions depending on the events and circumstances—But in general, music does play an important role even during other activities as it triggers certain responses in our subconscious mind.
This holds true even for music that you have never listened to before.
With that, we wanted to learn more about how background music can affect players who are gambling. There are a few high-stakes things in the world that require laser-focused attention.
But the majority of these things such as a game of chess, the final of an esports tournament, or a football match don’t really have any background music. So, we had to look elsewhere.
Casinos are also high-stakes matters. But they do have background music and we were very interested in uncovering how the choice of music might influence the player’s moods. Furthermore, we wanted to know if casinos knew about this or even exploited this to keep players gambling for long.
We’re done with our research now and here’s what we could find. And it’s not just a trend with physical casinos—we could find hints of musical influence even at live casino online!
The latter embellishes the realistic casino experience with musical soundtracks, as well as a live human dealer guiding the game, which leaves a positive influence on one’s casino performance.
What Did We Learn?
Casinos know that music affects the players’ moods greatly. That’s why they carefully select and design their background music. The aim is to create an atmosphere that encourages gambling and entertainment value.
How do they do that? The answer might surprise you!
1. Excitement
First of all, casinos choose upbeat and energetic music that has a fast tempo. This, on its own, can create an ambiance of excitement and anticipation to make players feel more engaged and enthusiastic, thus keeping them on the table for longer.
This goes hand in hand with the casino etiquette of free drinks—The more you stay and play, the more money the casino is likely to make because the odds always favor the casino, even if slightly.
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2. Relaxation
Lounges and restaurants in the casinos often play soothing and calm music. The idea here is to make the player feel relaxed and comfortable, perhaps even make them more sociable.
This provides a break from the intense gaming environment but it also makes the player connect the feeling of comfort with the lounge, making them more likely to come back again.
3. Speed
It’s a well-known fact that faster-paced music makes you make faster decisions. This is why a higher BPM (beats per minute) is recommended for workout music. To quote CNET’s Amanda Capritto on how can a playlist boost your workout sessions, “The more intense you want the workout to be, the more upbeat the tempo should be.”
The same applies to players in a gambling area as well.
The tempo and rhythm of the music can influence the pace of the play. Faster music may encourage quicker betting and decision-making, while slower music can lead to a more relaxed gaming experience.
Casinos will selectively mix and match to offer the kind of speed they desire. Of course, this doesn’t work all the time. But it’s a general tinkering knob that has some underlying benefits for the casino’s bottom line.
4. Familiarity
Establishments of all kinds, when they really want their patrons to stay for longer or enjoy an experience, tend to play nostalgic or familiar music that will resonate with their particular audience.
This evokes positive memories and emotions. Ultimately, the players experience a sense of comfort that makes them play for longer or come back again soon.
Familiar music might not be able to give a player the much-needed baccarat tips when gambling, but it sure can make them feel better while winning or even losing in the game!
That’s Not All!
Those might be the top four reasons but casinos can use music intelligently in other ways as well, as we learned. Now, keep in mind that not all casinos follow these scientific rules about the psychological effects of music. Some are just copying others or playing music randomly.
But here are a few other reasons that we could find out:
- Sometimes, themed casinos play music that simply complements that theme. A tropical theme might play Caribbean music, for example. This basically helps players immerse themselves and be a part of an experience, not just a game table.
- A lot of casinos have an “anything goes” attitude and their main objective is to mask ambient noise. There is a surprising amount of ambient noise in casinos—Other players, players with their companions, slot machine sounds, and general chatter. Background music can easily create a better and more pleasant environment for all in these cases.
- Some music can encourage risk-taking behavior by influencing a person’s decision-making behavior. Though we didn’t see many casinos dabble in this because ultimately, if somebody takes more risks than they’re used to, they’re bound to regret it later and never come back, it was still a trend used in some capacity. Strategically played music can nudge some players toward making larger bets.
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In Conclusion
Overall, our findings surprised a lot of us. We hope they surprised you too! Casinos use background music in fairly creative ways and we’re not sure whether it’s a copy-paste thing or something truly remarkable and genius.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
