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Housewives Hooked on an Online Flutter: Who’s the Gambling Industry’s New Favourite?: Typical Punter is a Married Woman Playing Poker While Her Husband is Out, Research Shows
Observer, The; London (UK) 06/14/2004
OPEN any men’s magazine and you cannot miss the adverts for internet casinos. But the firms selling the glamorous James Bond lifestyle might now want to think about radically changing their advertising, as new research shows that more middle-aged women now engage in an online flutter than any other group. According to the media consultancy firm Screen Digest, ‘bored housewives’ have become hooked on online games and competitions which promise cash rewards and prizes, a burgeoning industry which is now worth more than pounds 270 million a year in Europe and north America alone.
OPEN any men’s magazine and you cannot miss the adverts for internet casinos. Many of the adverts feature scantily clad women and promise membership of an exclusive club offering instant gratification.
But the firms selling the glamorous James Bond lifestyle might now want to think about radically changing their advertising, as new research shows that more middle-aged women now engage in an online flutter than any other group.
Although men still represent a hardcore group who play regularly for big stakes, women now make up a vast chunk of what aficionados term ‘casual’ punters.
According to the media consultancy firm Screen Digest, ‘bored housewives’ have become hooked on online games and competitions which promise cash rewards and prizes, a burgeoning industry which is now worth more than pounds 270 million a year in Europe and north America alone.
The firm found the typical net gambling addict is a married woman aged over 40, surfing the net when her husband is out of the house.
Gambling experts say new technology has transformed the demographics of punters. ‘Women hate going into smoky betting shops – it’s an intimidating environment. But a game of Texas Hold ‘Em in the comfort of their own bedroom is a lot more attractive,’ said James Hipwell, editor of the gambling magazine Inside Edge
Screen Digest quotes figures produced by internet tracking agency Nielsen, which found that 64 per cent of online punters are women and 60 per cent are married. Around half of online gamblers are between 35 and 54.
The report’s author, Nick Gibson, said a rise in the number of people with internet access, coupled with an increasingly elderly population with time on its hands, had created a huge demand for online gaming.
‘This demographic is not only avidly playing online games but, over the past 24 months in particular, also appears increasingly comfortable doing so for money,’ said Gibson, author of Online Gaming Markets to 2007
Unsurprisingly, given the statistics, it is a woman who holds the UK record for an online win. Michelle Black, 36, from Manchester, scooped pounds 74,652 and pounds 201,000 playing online fruit machines at ladbrokescasino.com.
The big demographic shift has been so acute that some sites now report that 70 per cent of players are female. They favour card games which promise cash prizes for the best player. Also popular are bingo, pub quizzes and casino games, chiefly one-armed bandits, roulette and poker. ‘Every casual online gaming sub-sector is now dominated by female gamers,’ Gibson said.
Sites such as pogo.com now feature free games that offer chances to win virtual tokens that can be exchanged for cash or prizes. By doing so, they avoid the regulations that apply to gambling sites.
‘We see women as a fantas tically important target. We’re trying to make the games as much fun as possible, for instance by allowing people to play for a long time without losing any money,’ said a spokesman for Virgin Games, which is due to launch its own gambling site.
The lure of big bucks is a response to cut-throat competition in the gaming industry. It is estimated there are 300 software developers who design gaming sites. A typical game will cost an operator anything up to pounds 30,000, plus a share in future revenues.
Many sites offer casual punters the chance to play for free to help them understand the rules. ‘The most popular gaming sites for women are the ones that are the easiest to get into,’ Gibson said.
An increasing number of sites now link to hardcore gambling operations, and Gibson believes professional betting firms will soon target new female punters.
‘It has the potential to provide an extremely lucrative extra revenue stream,’ he said. Online poker has become big business and there are now more than 140 poker websites on which pounds 40m is staked daily.
Ladbrokes says women’s poker is growing steadily. ‘They are undoubtedly more successful and have some natural characteristics that help them,’ said Albert Tapper, of Ladbrokes.
We already knew that the online gambling demographics were slightly skewed toward the gentler sex.
The new numbers show that the demographic makeup of the online gambler increasingly shifting, with women outnumbering men by an ever growing margin.
I hope the casinos and creative designers pay attention to this and make a greater effort design casinos and ad campaigns that attract women.
Righton, Fergie!
Most current designs are not very appealing to women.
Thanks.Wow! Interesting stuff.
My wife wouldn’t gamble if I paid her to.
and have some natural characteristics that help them,
lets see, what’s an important trait to be able to do in poker that also comes natural to some women?
I would be LYING to say that I have any kind of idea what he meant by that statement.
Originally posted by bb1webs
lets see, what’s an important trait to be able to do in poker that also comes natural to some women?I would be LYING to say that I have any kind of idea what he meant by that statement.
Me too. :confused:
