In addition to the games, high-value prizes make the prospect of winning even more attractive, she noted.
With high stakes and high rewards, some players might be encouraged to spend more money on the games in the hope of winning a high-value prize.
Likewise, Otium Mindhealth’s senior consultant psychiatrist and medical director Lui Yit Shiang said: “If we allow small prizes to be won more frequently, the brain registers pleasure and gets conditioned to return to that same setup.
“And if the game rules that the higher the stakes, the greater the prize, the brain would tell the player to keep returning to place higher stakes to win, regardless of the earlier losses.”
Some individuals are more prone to this notion of betting without realising the consequences, as reward conditioning has overtaken judgment, said Dr Lui.
High-value prizes such as the latest handphone or audio system models are “eye-catching” and entice players to go for bigger bets, he said, adding that this can be particularly harmful for minors or those with poorer economic judgment.
The experts welcomed the S$100 cap on prizes, calling it a good start in discouraging gambling.
One Hope Centre’s Ms Kong said the cap can reduce the attractiveness of rewards and de-incentivise some players.
Moreover, a S$100 prize can still be “reasonably attractive” for a child or teenager, she added.
But Ms Kong also said many problem gamblers play not for the prize, but for the experience. “While the prize cap can reduce the attractiveness of the prize, the pleasurable experience associated with these machines and their gambling elements still remain.
“Some players may be conditioned to be stimulated by these gambling elements, and it will not be too big of a step-up for them to move on to more conventional gambling games such as slot machines,” she added.
Mr Andy Leach, director of addiction services at the Visions by Promises treatment centre, said that for gamblers, it was not about winning or losing.
“The process of sitting in an arcade and playing games, and the expectation of whether (they) will win or not,” he said. “That will always be there despite the fact that (prizes have) been capped.”