Pepper Partners study involving Austrian players, Hungary, Poland and Singapore tried to answer a simple question: Do people from different cultures view winning and losing in casinos in the same way and remember it in the same way?.
Eye tracking technology was used for analysis, which records eye movement, gaze delays and pupillary response. This allows you to understand not only where the player is looking, but also what exactly holds his attention.
Where are the players looking?
Europe (Austria, Hungary, Poland)
The main focus is the center of the screen.
On average 73% views fall on the center, if you win - up to 76%, if you lose - about 69%. Even a negative outcome does not “blur” attention: the center remains the dominant zone of perception.
Singapore
Behavior is more distributed.
On average only 57% attention remains in the center. If you win - 63%, and when you lose, attention is almost divided: 51% center and 49% periphery.
Main Difference: when losing, the Europeans continue to “keep focus” in the center, while Singaporean players read the screen periphery and additional interface elements more actively.
Where differences disappear
Peak gaming moments
In bonus rounds and high arousal situations, both groups behave the same - a tunnel vision effect occurs. Attention sharply narrows and concentrates strictly in the center, regardless of cultural background.
Memory later 48 hours
The results are almost identical: 65–67% recognition. At the same time, players poorly reproduce interface details, but they remember well the emotional state of the game.
What does this mean for UX design?
- European markets: a strong central composition works, high contrast, minimal periphery overload
- Asian markets: a more rich visual environment is acceptable, background animations and elements at the edges of the screen are not lost
- Peak states: all critical information should be strictly in the center, It is better to turn off any distracting elements
- CRM and post-game communications: work more effectively through emotion, and not through interface detail
- Localization: not only text is important, but also visual - the structure of the screen and the dynamics of animations require adaptation to the region
Ukraine
Ukraine was not directly included in the study sample, but based on behavioral patterns and UX research of the Eastern European market, it is logical to consider it next to Poland and Hungary.
In this context, the behavior of Ukrainian players is often closer to the “European” scenario, but with noticeable hybridity:
- during a standard game, attention is mainly fixed on the center of the screen (similar to Poland and Austria)
- when losing, the emotional reaction often intensifies and sensitivity to visual signals increases (including interface peripherals), which brings behavior closer to the more “distributed” attention of eastern markets
- In the mobile segment, the role of quick visual triggers is higher (animations, winning lights, dynamic notifications), than in classic desktop scenarios
A separate factor is the high adaptability of the audience: Ukrainian users switch faster between interface styles depending on the product (local brands vs international platforms), making behavior less “fixed” and more contextual.
Ukraine in this picture looks like a transitional model: the basic structure of attention is closer to the European one (center), but the reaction to loss and peripheral signals is more sensitive, than Western European players. This reinforces the importance of flexible UX architecture, especially in mobile products and emotionally charged scenarios.
Conclusion
Cultural differences do affect player behavior, especially when losing. But under conditions of high emotional stress, the differences almost disappear: attention shrinks to the center, but what remains in memory is not the interface, and the experienced emotion.
As a result, the UX in iGaming balances between two modes: cultural (perceptual structure) and universal (peak emotional state).
