Online slot games have a variety of sounds incorporated in them. If you listen carefully you can identify several distinct sounds. There is a sound associated with the spinning of the reels. Sometimes it is simply a sound, but more often it is a kind of background music that has some relation to the theme of the slot game. Usually this is more emphasized during the free spins bonus round. They can be a distinctive sound when the reels come to a stop. Some of the latest slot machines have a sound even when the reels are idle so as to prompts the player to start spin. This becomes more interesting when one of the characters actually says something to the player. Last but definitely not the least is the audio created to accompany a winning combination on the reel.

At an obvious level these various audio components make the slot game more lively and interesting. It would be dull to wager on a slot machine that is silent. You can disable the audio for a while and make the comparison. But apparently there is more to sound than mere attractiveness. A scientific study was conducted in 2013 that explored various aspects of the audio to physiological effects on players. The thesis of this study was that sound acts as a positive reinforcement to playing. In the study 96 players wagered on a slot machine, one time with the audio functioning and the second time with the audio disabled. The sound was particularly emphatic with the wins. Some measurable factors like skin conductance responses and heart rate were recorded to assess the players’ emotional responses. This was followed by asking the players in the sample to answer a questionnaire.

The report stated that the participants responded to sound both physically and emotionally. Most of the players indicated in the questionnaire that they preferred to wager on the slot machine with the wining sounds. There was another very interesting results reported. Players when on the slot machine without the audio estimated the number of times that they had won with reasonable accuracy. However when on the slot machine with the sound, players significantly overestimated the number of times they had hit winning combinations.

There is no imputation that audio in slots results in addiction. It is simply an added value provided alongside wagering. But with the given advances in technology more sophisticated audio effects in slots games are sure to come.