‘I wouldn't have become addicted to fruit machines if it wasn't for coin pushers’: A case report of adolescent coin pusher use leading to lifelong gambling-related harm

Abstract

While most previous adolescent gambling research focuses on the illegal use of age-restricted products, adolescents can also often gamble legally using machines such as coin pushers (aka ‘penny falls’ machines). Using a qualitative case report design, we use an in-depth interview to complement previous findings, which have associated recollected adolescent use of coin pusher machines with levels of adult gambling-related harm. We recruited a 57-year-old male with a history of significant gambling-related harm, whose initiation into gambling involved the adolescent use of coin pusher machines. The interview was audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three themes were identified: the structural similarities between coin pushers and traditional gambling formats, the role of proximity and normalization in facilitating progression to riskier gambling, and the participant's suggestions for population-level harm prevention measures. This novel case report highlights how a person's lifelong struggles with severe gambling-related harms began with adolescent exposure to coin pusher machines. Greater awareness of this case could encourage more gamblers to share similar experiences, alongside helping to educate parents and policymakers about the potential harmful consequences of using coin pusher machines.