Electronic gaming machines are a widespread and popular form of entertainment in casinos and
gambling halls around the world. Especially popular are linked electronic slot machines with
jackpot reel games. The proliferation of these games has also led to their excessive use that has
driven researchers to seek and identify the features of these games that have the greatest impact
on the user experience of players and, in turn, contributing to their potential addictiveness and
associated harm. In this thesis, we conducted a comparative analysis of the functionalities,
features and characteristics of five jackpot reel games from five different manufacturers
available in Slovenian casinos and gambling halls. The analysis was based on an usability
expert review, where the features and characteristics of electronic jackpot reel games were
identified, described and compared. The results of the expert review of jackpot reel game
categories and features, which we defined based on a harm-minimization approach, showed
that jackpot reel games from different manufacturers are very similar in terms of user
experience. Slightly larger differences were observed only in terms of speed of play and the
volatility of games. Some minor differences were found in terms of use of sound and graphics,
which game manufacturers utilize to influence the user experience of players. However,
manufacturers, by and large, use a fairly unified approach in their pursuit of the characteristics
we have identified as drivers of user experience.
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