Most of us have been there at some point – accidentally spending more on a spin than we intended to thanks to some kind of finger slip or mishap with the game interface.
Well, a post from a player in the SweepsFlow.com Facebook group recently raised an interesting question along these lines, opening up a discussion about the way some online slots are designed – specifically the user interface for selecting bet sizes on mobile.
User Aron Saelao says he accidentally placed a 60 SC spin on 3 Super Hot Chillies (3 Oaks Gaming) at Crown Coins after changing his bet size without meaning to. This is because the ‘change bet’ button now sits extremely close to the ‘spin’ button on 3 Oaks games on mobile.
Saelao says he accidentally hit the change bet button, then accidentally selected the 60 SC bet, which appears in the same area of the screen, before hitting spin and locking everything in before he’d realized what happened. This was partly down to a ‘rapid tapping’ style.
Unfortunately for Saelao, the 60 SC spin went through with no resulting win, and he says that Crown Coins refused to reimburse him – which is unsurprising.
And while it’s easy to argue that players are responsible for their spins and should simply pay more attention, the situation does raise a bigger question: are some slot game interfaces making it too easy to accidentally place a much larger bet than intended?
Other players chimed in, saying they’ve experienced something similar, including on games where the ‘max’ button is placed next to the spin button, resulting in accidental max bet spins!
But Isn’t the Player Responsible?
Well, yes, overall. If you’re playing a casino game, you should always check your bet size before hitting spin, and that’s especially true when playing with Sweeps Coins.
We saw several people in the comments of the Facebook post making exactly this point, and it’s hard to argue. If the game clearly displays ‘60 SC’ as the selected wager and you press spin, there’s a pretty obvious argument that the player has made the bet – regardless of how fast they were tapping and whether they intended to or not.
However, if the interface makes it too easy to move from a 0.5 SC amount to a 60 SC amount with an accidental tap, that’s a game design issue worth looking at.
In 3 Super Hot Chillies (3 Oaks Gaming), the screen on the right is brought up when a player hits the ‘change bet’ button on the main game screen (on the left). As you can see the 60 SC option is located nearby the change bet and spin buttons.
Tips for Avoiding Accidents on Slots
This isn’t just a problem on the new 3 Oaks interface. The SweepsKings team has experienced this on other studios’ games on mobile, including those from Playtech (the play size is automatically set at high levels upon launching). But while it may feel unethical, it’s not ‘against the rules‘ to tweak an interface to potentially influence player spending.
Some commenters on the Facebook post suggested that certain interfaces may be deliberately designed to make these mistakes more likely, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
And as we saw, sweepstakes casinos won’t be willing to refund players in these kinds of cases, so responsibility ultimately falls on the player. Therefore, here are a few ways you can mitigate mistakes like this:
- Take your time and don’t use rapid spinning: If you’re constantly tapping the spin button as quickly as possible, it’s much easier to hit something you didn’t mean to. Slow down and take your time to make less mistakes.
- Try the game in GC mode first: If you’re unfamiliar with a slot interface, playing a few spins with Gold Coins can give you a chance to figure out a rhythm before you put any SC on the line. It’s a simple way to get familiar with the layout without risking your redeemable balance.
- Use autoplay where available: This removes the need to repeatedly tap the screen altogether, as the game automatically makes each spin for you at a set play amount. Just make sure you’ve double-checked the bet size and number of spins before starting!
- Play on desktop for more control: A larger screen gives you more space between buttons and makes it easier to see exactly what you’re clicking. Using a mouse can also give you more control. All this can be particularly useful on games where the bet controls are positioned close to the spin button on mobile.
- Avoid games with finicky interfaces: As a last resort, if a particular provider puts important controls in awkward places, there’s nothing stopping you from choosing another game. It might not be fair that players have to adapt to poor interface design, but if you’re playing with SC, avoiding games where an accidental tap could cost you a huge amount is probably the safest option.
So accidental bets aren’t exactly a new problem, and they’re probably never going to disappear completely, but better-designed interfaces could certainly make them less likely.
Until then, it’s worth knowing which games have awkward layouts and taking intentional steps to avoid any costly mistakes.
Author: Jon Ridehalgh
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