Massive Study Reveals Typical Online Gambler

The majority of online gamblers aren't playing to win money long-term; it's more about entertainment value, according to the findings of the 'eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Survey'. The study plots the behaviour and attitudes of 11,000 players across 96 countries.

When players across all forms of gambling were asked why they gambled online, answers such as 'to relax', 'for the entertainment and excitement' or 'to relieve boredom', heavily outweighed 'to make money' or 'to win', suggesting online gamblers view their pastime as simply another form of leisure activity.

The scale of the sample - in what is billed as the largest research project of its kind to date - has allowed researchers to create a picture of the typical online poker player (73.8% male, and aged 26-35) and casino player (54.8% female and aged 46-55), as well as look at other demographics such as number of plays per week, sites visited, and hours played.

Play mainly takes place at home (89.7%) in the evening, although one in ten women preferred playing at work. The usual bet is between £15-30 a session in casino games and poker players said they normally played with 2-10% of their bankroll at any one time. The vast majority of players say they are 'up' or 'down' within a range plus or minus £130 a month; or £32.50 per week, which respondents say is less than the cost of a night in the pub and a taxi home.

Overall, players felt that there was some need for improvement across a range of areas. More than half (55%) wanted to see an increase in the number of sites submitting themselves to effective self regulation, while operator transparency (55%), clarity of regulations (54%), uniformity of code of conduct (51%), responsiveness to complaints (49%) and more responsible gambling features (48%) all featured highly on the wish list.

The study was undertaken on behalf of ECOGRA by the Betting and International Gaming Research Units at Nottingham Trent University. The Unit's Director, Professor Leighton Vaughan Williams, comments: 'The importance of this research for our understanding of the online gambling phenomenon cannot be overstated. The findings of this groundbreaking collaboration between academics and practitioners will have a significant, positive role in influencing the thinking of policy-makers, regulators and operators alike'.

ECOGRA is the independent standards authority for the online gambling industry and is on the web at www.ecogra.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.