OBJECTIVE Land-based gambling venues remain predominantly cash-based despite broader consumer trends toward digital payments. Little prior literature directly investigates the role of payment methods in gambling; however, digital payment systems offer a key intervention point for gambling harm minimization. This study explores the perspectives of electronic gaming machine (EGM) gamblers regarding the concept of cashless gambling-the ability to gamble without using physical currency. METHOD Twenty-six Australian EGM gamblers (10 females, 16 males; aged 24-76 years) participated in four online focus group discussions. Using content analysis and a pragmatic approach, data were organized thematically in relation to consumer perceptions about the benefits and risks of cashless gambling, factors potentially influencing uptake of cashless gambling, and recommendations about harm reduction features that could be incorporated into the system. RESULTS Cashless gambling was perceived to present important opportunities for more useful and meaningful harm reduction measures based on the ability to track a user's complete gambling activity. However, participants reported reluctance toward adoption of cashless gambling, tending to perceive such systems as being overly restrictive and invasive, and potentially facilitating (over)spending, depending on design and implementation. Participants commonly perceived systems as offering little value to individuals who gamble without experiencing significant harms. CONCLUSIONS Perceived irrelevance and privacy concerns appear to be major barriers to adoption of a cashless gambling system with strong harm reduction features. Our findings provide insights for policy makers considering the optimal design, implementation, and marketing of cashless gambling from a harm reduction perspective. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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无现金赌博：对消费者对电子游戏机数字支付系统危害最小化潜力的看法进行定性分析。

目标 尽管消费者倾向于数字支付，但实体赌博场所仍然主要以现金为基础。之前很少有文献直接调查支付方式在赌博中的作用；然而，数字支付系统为最大限度地减少赌博危害提供了一个关键干预点。本研究探讨了电子游戏机 (EGM) 赌徒对无现金赌博概念（不使用实物货币进行赌博的能力）的看法。方法 26 名澳大利亚 EGM 赌徒（10 名女性，16 名男性；年龄 24-76 岁）参加了四次在线焦点小组讨论。使用内容分析和务实的方法，根据消费者对无现金赌博的好处和风险的看法、潜在影响无现金赌博的因素以及可以纳入系统的减少伤害功能的建议，按主题组织数据。结果 无现金赌博被认为为基于跟踪用户完整赌博活动的能力的更有用和更有意义的减少伤害措施提供了重要机会。然而，参与者表示不愿意采用无现金赌博，倾向于认为此类系统过于限制性和侵入性，并且可能会促进（过度）支出，具体取决于设计和实施。参与者普遍认为系统对于没有遭受重大伤害的赌博个人来说几乎没有什么价值。结论 感知的无关性和隐私问题似乎是采用具有强大减少伤害功能的无现金赌博系统的主要障碍。我们的研究结果为政策制定者从减少危害的角度考虑无现金赌博的最佳设计、实施和营销提供了见解。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。