The Science Behind Casino Lighting and Design

A casino is a business, and casino designers who consider the business’s goals can present better designs by encouraging visitors to stay longer and return more often. The longer players remain in house or at an online casino, the more profit the business makes.

While players know that a casino is in the hospitality business for the money, thoughtful establishments embrace hospitality principles and work to ensure players enjoy their experience. Making the whole experience enjoyable helps to give gaming institutions a positive reputation and encourages guests to return. A winning casino’s design will contribute to achieving these goals. From the casino lighting to the games themselves, everything has to be considered.

Casino designers do not rely on luck; complicated scientific principles are involved. To truly understand how to design a winning establishment and even a winning game, you must understand human psychology and the basic principles of emotional selling to understand why we do what we do and how you can use this science to improve your casino while walking the delicate balance between providing a service and making a profit.

Good Casino Qualities

Like most principles in life, views change as times change and trends change. Land-based Casino design has evolved. In the 1970s and 1980s, bricks-and-mortar gaming establishments took their lead from experts like Bill Friedman. Friedman spent his entire career in and around Las Vegas Casinos through the latter part of the 20th century and advocated prioritising the gaming equipment itself with little or no thought to the surrounding decor. He promoted designs incorporating low lighting, high air conditioning, no clocks, and minimal interior decor.

While outside, many classic casinos of that generation employed highly lit visual effects to pull in the crowds. Some casinos had dancing fountains (still do) and galleon ships that got sunk four times a day (Treasure Island). Today, the lagoon has been converted to retail space and water features with no pirates or sirens, which begs the question: Has online gaming stripped the fun out of land-based casinos? That’s a question for another day.

Friedman’s game-centric approach to atmosphere is revealed in his 2000 book, Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition. Friedman may have been an expert, but tastes changed, and just as he published his book, a new approach was implemented.

Roger Thomas introduced the concept of the casino as a playground. Thomas and his contemporaries (Steve Wynn) embraced the principles of an overall experience based on entertainment and hospitality as a whole. Today, Friedman’s principles are still relevant, but new designs are less regimented and more playful.

The Science Behind Human Behaviour

To understand what makes people tick, in this case, gambling, there are scientific principles in play that are utilised in casino design, and it’s all in the hormones. Casino design is all about taking you out of your regular environment and providing a release or distraction from your daily life.

Roger Thomas, Steve Wynn and Bill Friedman all know what makes a winning combination; that’s why designers tap into our hormones to create the potential for a dopamine release that makes us want to stay and enjoy the feeling our brains produce. The feeling starts at the front door, building expectation and feeding on our willingness to have a good time.

The slot machines at the door have gone, and bright and colourful lighting, indoor fountains, and classical music have come to dominate. There is still an element of red (usually carpets) in older and more traditional establishments, but the overriding theme is luxury and fun is in and rows of noisy slots are out.

The Emotional Association with Gambling

Casino designers use colour to create designs that produce an emotional response to a situation. Red is all about passion and excitement, while blue and green are associated with peace and calm. Red increases alertness and competitiveness, so Friedman used a red-patterned carpet design to elicit an emotional response in his customers. Warm colours create a sense of urgency, making you ready to play and willing to stay.

While gaming remains central to casinos, the approach to land-based and online gaming means many have adopted an omnichannel strategy that is heavily branded to allow players to enjoy their pastime wherever they are.

Casinos increasingly focus on creating vibrant social spaces that encourage interaction through dining and entertainment in luxurious surroundings that include gaming but are not solely focused on machines or card tables. Enjoying your downtime through entertainment has proven as lucrative as playing casino games; you only need to look at Resorts World Las Vegas, which boasts fine dining, entertainment, retail, nightlife and a pool and spa. With three hotels, all with mod cons, they even have an AI concierge called RED!

The Changing Taste Of Casino Lighting and Design

There’s no need to worry; brick-and-mortar establishments will never change radically. They evolve with the times. In terms of casino lighting, LEDs have replaced incandescent bulbs, but the light and glamour remain the same. According to a study by NASA, Las Vegas is visible from space; images taken from the International Space Station show the city as a bright light in the darkness. The addition of the Luxor Sky Beam at the MSG Sphere means the sky is always illuminated. So, while casino designs change, a lot remains the same.

Immersive entertainment and technology such as AR and VR allow gaming companies to walk you through the casino you choose, even when you’re thousands of miles away. The concept of casino design considers these facilities in all aspects of design, providing the look and feel of a land-based casino no matter where you are in the world.

Updated practicalities mean you no longer have to walk from the pool through the casino to get to the hotel lobby. The maze-like designs have been replaced with sympathetic schemes that prioritise practicality and convenience. As for lighting, the Instagrammable nature of casino entertainment means the more flattering, the better. Designers have taken this on board