Background and Aims Immersion during slot machine gambling has been linked to disordered gambling. Current conceptualizations of immersion (namely dissociation, flow and the machine zone) make contrasting predictions as to whether gamblers are captivated by the game per se ('zoned in') or motivated by the escape that immersion provides ('zoned out'). We examined whether selected eye-movement metrics can distinguish between these predictions. Design and Setting Pre-registered, correlational analysis in a laboratory setting. Participants gambled on a genuine slot machine for 20 minutes while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Participants Fifty-three adult slot machine gamblers who were not high-risk problem gamblers. Measurements We examined self-reported immersion during the gambling session and eye movements at different areas of the slot machine screen (the reels, the credit window, etc.). We further explored these variables' relationships with saccade count and amplitude. Findings The ratio of dwell time on the game's credit window relative to the game's reels was positively associated with immersion (t (51) = 1.68, P = 0.049 one-tailed, R 2 = 0.05). Follow-up analyses described event-related changes in these patterns following different spin outcomes.Conclusions Immersion while gambling on a slot machine appears to be associated with active scanning of the game and a focus on the game's credit window. These results are more consistent with a 'zoned in' account of immersion aligned with flow theory than a 'zoned out' account based on escape.

Flow activities (e.g. sports and gaming) have been associated with positive affect and prolonged engagement. In the gambling field, modern electronic gaming machines (EGMs, including modern slot machines) have drawn concern as a potentially flowinducing activity that may be associated with gambling-related harms. Current research has heavily relied on self-reported flow, and further insights may be afforded by physiological methods. We present data from three separate experiments in which selfreported gambling flow and cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP; a measure of sympathetic nervous system arousal) were examined. Male undergraduate participants gambled on a genuine EGM in a laboratory setting for a period of at least 15 min, and completed the Flow subscale of the game experience questionnaire (GEQ). Aggregated data were analyzed using multilevel regression. Although EGM gambling was not associated with significant changes in PEP across participants, we found that self-reported flow states were associated with significant decreases in PEP during the first five minutes of EGM use. Thus, participants who experienced flow showed a greater sympathetic nervous system response to the onset of gambling. Though these effects were consistent in experiments 1 and 2, in experiment 3 the effect was inverted during the same time window. We conclude that flow during EGM gambling appears to be associated with early changes in sympathetic nervous system activity, but stress that more research is needed to characterize boundary conditions and moderating factors.

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