7 Reasons Why Slots Are a Bad Choice to Play at Casinos

Casino gamblers seem to love the slot machines. This is why the constant noise of slot machines fills the casino every hour of operation. But slots are also usually the biggest money maker for the casino, so they might not be the best choice when you want to see a profit over time.

Not everything about slots is bad, but the truth is that there are better options in the casino. I’ve put together a list of seven reasons why I think slots are a bad choice for gamblers.

I’m not necessarily trying to get you to stop playing slots. But I do want you to be educated about exactly how these machines can be if you’re not careful.

1 – Wins That Are Actually Losses

To be honest, this is the main reason why I think that slots are bad for gamblers. The other points listed in this article add to the overall theme, but there’s one particular factor that bothers me the most. Not every slot machine uses this trick, but many of them do.

When you’re playing real money slots and get a winning combination, studies show that a chemical is released in your brain. This chemical makes you feel good and makes you want to get more of the same feeling. In other words, the feeling you get from a small winning spin can quickly become addicting.

I don’t suppose there’s anything especially wrong with wanting to feel good, but when the casino and slot machine manufacturers take advantage of this, it’s not good. And it’s especially bad when a win is actually a loss.

You’re probably wondering how a win can actually be a loss.


Some slot machines pay out less than it costs you to make a spin on their lowest paying combinations. A machine might cost $2 to play and only pay out $1 or $1.50 for the lowest paying combinations.

This registers as a win to you, which makes you feel good, but it’s really a loss overall. I don’t know how this can be considered anything but evil.

2 – The Bonus Trap

I’m like most gamblers when I play online or on my mobile device. I like to find a good bonus when I gamble. But I learned a long time ago that most bonuses are better for the casino than me.

The first thing you need to come to grips with is that everything casinos do is designed to make more money. Comps programs are designed to keep gamblers playing longer so they can earn more comps.

Some casinos give gamblers free drinks because it leads to more mistakes and more profits for the casino. And this same type of thinking is why online and mobile casinos offer bonuses.

The big issue with gambling and slots bonuses is that the casino doesn’t just give you the money. They give you money with a bunch of strings attached. And these strings require you to play long enough that the casino is likely to win back the entire bonus and all of the money you deposited.

Slots bonuses are also designed to get you to deposit more money. If you’re only planning to deposit $200, but you find a bonus that doubles or triples your bankroll on deposits up to $500, you’re tempted to deposit more.

Even if you only deposit $300 instead of $500, the casino is likely to make an extra $100 from you.

Some online and mobile casinos even offer a string of bonuses. Instead of just offering a 100% bonus n your first deposit, they might offer 100% on each of your first four or five deposits. This keeps you coming back for more.

You can use bonuses when you play slots, but make sure you see them for what they really are. Bonuses are designed to take more of your money, not give you money.

3 – Putting You in a Trance

I covered one of the ways that slot machines are designed in the first section. But this isn’t the only evil design that slots have.

Slot machines have many design techniques that keep gamblers glued to the screen. And many of these designs are made to put you into a trance-like state. If the casino can get you to forget about everything else except pulling the lever or pushing the spin button, they know that they have a good chance of taking all of your money.

I’ve seen this referred to as a “slots trance” or the “slot machine trance,” and I can’t think of a better way to describe it. You get so interested in what’s going on in the game that you keep playing until all of the money you put in the machine is gone.

And even worse, some slot machines are designed in a way that you almost automatically put more money in the machine when you run out because you don’t want to miss out on a bonus round or storyline. I cover these in the next section.

4 – Making You Chase

A truly evil development in the slots industry was when the manufacturers started building stories or games within games or ways to unlock bonus rounds in the games. These all act as devices that make you more invested in the game.

The issue is that all of these types of devices make you keep playing to unlock something else. You end up chasing something in the game that forces you to keep going.

While playing, you might think that if you can just unlock whatever you’re currently going after, then you’re may just have a chance to win your losses back. But the truth is that it just makes you lose more money.

5 – The Illusion of the Jackpot

I’m sure you’ve seen some progressive slots jackpots that have climbed to over $1 million. And many machines have jackpots of $100,000 or more. And it’s nice to dream about how a jackpot is going to change your life. It might get you out of debt, pay for your kid’s college education, or get you a new car.

But the problem is that these things are all just dreams. The odds of hitting a jackpot are huge. The odds are actually so bad that most slots players go their entire life without hitting even a small jackpot.

Slots jackpots do what they’re supposed to do. They get more gamblers to chase the jackpot, which makes more money for the casino. And a slots jackpot is nothing more than an illusion to most gamblers

6 – The Speed Trap

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the ways slot machines are designed, and how all of the designs are bad for you. Another design that’s terrible for gamblers, and borderline evil, is the rate of speed that the machines operate at.

Slot machines are designed so you can get in hundreds of spins every hour. I’ve seen some machines that made it easy to take 500 or more spins every hour.

This seems like fun when you’re doing it, but the problem is that it just means you’re risking more than when you play slow. Don’t fall for the slots speed trap. The faster you play, the happier the casino is. This should be enough to tell you that you’re playing too fast.

7 – The Constant Edge

The most awful thing about slot machines is the edge the casino has over you every time you play. Some casino games have situations where you can get a short-term edge. But slot machines don’t work this way.

Every slot machine has a constant edge. This is the way these machines are designed. Even when you get lucky and win a little bit, the edge is still there.

In addition to the edge always being there, it’s also usually higher than the edge the casino has on other games. Games like blackjack and baccarat have a much lower casino edge. And you don’t play these games as fast as you play slots.

The combination of the speed of play, the high edge, and everything else in this article is why the casino makes so much money from slots players. And this is why slots are so evil.

Conclusion

Many of the reasons why I think slots are evil deals with deception. Bonuses look good, but they’re designed to make you deposit more. Sometimes, wins are really losses, and the big jackpots are rarely more than an enticement to keep you playing longer.

Slot machines hold a casino edge that simply can’t be overcome by the masses. You might get lucky and win, but the odds are that you’re going to get the same results as the majority of slots players. It might be time to look at the other gambling options available when you play in a casino.