Locus of control on luck: Theoretical and strategic implications for casino gaming

Abstract

Luck plays a critical role in human life given the fact that not every outcome in people?  life is controllable. Uncontrollable outcome is particularly salient in casino gaming as most of the games are primarily driven by chance. Therefore it is common to see casino players talking about luck all the time and sharing their strategies on how to prolong their good luck and eradicate their bad luck. Coherent with these episodes, many previous studies reveal that people who feel lucky have a higher winning expectancy, intention to play, and risk-taking propensity. However, little scholarly attention falls into the factor that moderates the effect of perceived luck on subsequent behavior. The current paper proposes a notion called Locus of control on luck as a potential moderator. Locus of control on luck is derived from the classical concept Locus of control Which posits that some people attribute outcomes to their ability and effort while others attribute outcomes to external forces like luck and powerful others. Following this principle, it is proposed that people would also attribute their luck, which is a chancy outcome in nature, to them per se or external factors like lucky charms and alike. Previous research suggests that locus of control would differentiate the impact of evaluation of an existing outcome on outcome expectancy. This grounds the proposed moderating role of locus of control on luck on the relationship between perceived luck and gaming behavior. It is expected that locus of control on luck will render a direction for researchers to further investigate like developing a measurement scale for it and examining its relationships with other psychological constructs. By examining the proposed moderating role of locus of control on luck, casino operators will gain insights about how they can better influence the players? Gaming behavior with luck.