The results are in from the massive survey of online gambling habits, and it's interesting stuff
The first comprehensive picture of the ‘average’ online gambler has emerged from a huge new research project involving nearly 11,000 players from 96 countries. The ‘eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Survey’ commissioned by industry self-regulatory body eCOGRA and undertaken by the Betting and International Gaming Research Units at Nottingham Trent University, is the largest study to date into player behaviour and attitudes to the industry.
One of the most surprising findings to emerge is that although playing for money was important in terms of making games entertaining, overall, the majority of gamblers appear to not be playing to win money long-term – it’s more about the entertainment.
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’, highlighting that online gamblers view their pastime as simply another form of leisure activity.
The scale of the sample has allowed researchers to create the most reliable picture of the typical online poker and casino player to date.
The average online poker player is likely to:
• Be male (73.8%)
• Be aged 26-35 (26.9%)
• Play 2-3 times per week (26.8%)
• Have visited more than 6 poker sites in the preceding three months (25%)
• Have played for 2-3 years (23.6%)
The best things about internet gambling are ‘convenience and accessibility’ and ‘fun and excitement’, while ‘losing’ and ‘financial implications’ came top of the worst things – as might be expected. 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 – less than the cost of a night in the pub with your mates and a taxi home.
Overall, players felt that there was some need for improvement across a range of areas – 55% wanted to see an increase in the number sites submitting themselves to effective self regulation e.g. eCOGRA, while operator transparency (55%), clarity of regulations (54%), uniformity of code of conduct (51%), responsiveness to complaints (49%) and better responsible gambling features (48%) all featured highly on the list. In addition to the 55% who supported effective self regulation, a further one in four players (25%) felt ‘very strongly’ about the need for sites to sign up to a common code of conduct.
When it comes to customer service, it appears that online gambling companies do well when compared to other industries. The majority of players felt they received either the same level or significantly better levels of customer service, even when they’d had a dispute with a site.
Approximately half of all respondents had confidence in the integrity of the software, although disturbingly, one in three people thought that the sites had an on/off switch that allowed them to turn the software in their favour – something that an eCOGRA member site would find it impossible to implement thanks to the organisation’s standards for software development and independent testing procedures.
When it came to minimising the risk of being cheated, 64% of players ‘often’ or ‘always’ played on the biggest named sites, with 40% saying they ‘never’ played on smaller sites because of this fear. In addition, 70% of players said they sought out well known software providers or other assurances such as the eCOGRA ‘Play it Safe’ seal (61%).
Andrew Beveridge, CEO, eCOGRA comments on the findings: "These findings are a salutary reminder about the vast majority of players who enjoy this form of entertainment responsibly. Our job is to signpost players towards those operators who are meeting the majority’s expectations regarding fair play, responsible operator conduct and provisions to address problem gambling. We are encouraged by much of the feedback, but also recognise that we still have some way to go.
“This report provides invaluable information that will shape our approach for the next year as we continue to provide players with a ‘gold standard’ level of protection. We are delighted that the vast majority of players who responded were supportive of eCOGRA’s efforts and we hope this endorsement will encourage those within the industry that have yet to apply for our ‘Play it Safe’ seal, to do so over the coming year.”
The full findings of the survey are availbale on the eCOGRA website.
