Auto-Play Off by Default Cuts Slot Session Length 24%

Removing auto-play as a default setting cut average slot session length by 24% across a sample of 1.4 million player accounts, according to data shared this week by a Malta-based game studio that tested the change on its own titles. The finding lands as U.S. regulated markets inch toward stricter responsible-gambling design rules and gives operators a concrete number to argue over.

The test ran from January to June across six jurisdictions, four of them in Europe and two in North America. Players who never opened the auto-play menu saw sessions average 11 minutes 40 seconds, against 15 minutes 20 seconds for a control group whose games defaulted to auto-play on. Spin count per session dropped 19%, and the share of sessions lasting more than 30 minutes fell from 14.2% to 9.8%.

What the test actually changed

Auto-play lets a player preset a number of spins — commonly 10, 25, 50, or 100 — and let the reels run without further input. In the test group, the feature stayed available but required an explicit opt-in, and the default spin count was set to 10 rather than 50.

That second detail matters. The studio says roughly 62% of the session-length reduction came from players who opted in but chose the lower spin count. "We didn't remove the tool," the studio's head of product said in a briefing. "We removed the path of least resistance."

Where the number gets soft

Session length is a messy metric. The 24% figure counts time between first spin and last spin, with a five-minute inactivity cutoff. A player who leaves a tab open while making coffee can inflate the control group's numbers, and the studio acknowledges it did not track device idle states.

There's also a selection problem. Players who seek out auto-play may already be heavier users. The control group wasn't randomly assigned by player type, only by game version, so some of the gap could reflect who chooses the feature rather than what the feature does to them.

Independent researchers have flagged similar issues. A 2023 review of 41 published studies on slot machine structural characteristics found that speed-of-play features correlate with longer sessions but that causal evidence remains thin, partly because operators rarely publish account-level data.

Why U.S. operators are watching

No U.S. state currently mandates auto-play defaults, but the direction of travel is clear. Massachusetts and Connecticut have both tightened advertising and design rules since 2022, and the American Gaming Association's updated responsible-gaming code, published in 2023, recommends that "continuous play features" include mandatory session reminders.

For operators, the math cuts both ways. Shorter sessions mean fewer spins per visit, which hits revenue per player. But the studio behind the test reports that 30-day retention among the opt-in group rose 6%, suggesting some players return more often when they feel less drained by a session.

The question nobody has answered

The real unknown is whether a 24% cut in session length translates into a 24% cut in harm. Problem gambling isn't measured in minutes, and a player who stops after 11 minutes because the auto-play menu annoyed them may simply open a second game. The studio's data can't speak to that, and no regulator has yet required a study that follows players across operators rather than within one lobby.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-522-4700, available 24 hours a day.