A new study on gambling spends show online casinos have proved beyond doubt what most of us knew all along. Online gambling is more popular and is beating land based casinos by a long shot when it comes to spends made.
Published in the reputed Montreal Gazette, the study was on the gambling habits of people in the city of Quebec. The reason for the study using a Canadian location can be traced to the fact that Canada is one of the very few countries in the world where gambling is a legal operation.
There are some provinces where gambling is banned but Quebec is not one of them. It showed that nearly 86,000 adults in Quebec spent to the tune of $10,000 per annum on internet based casinos and gambling activities. An actual number of 11,888 gamblers were actually interviewed for as much as 12 minutes to understand their habits, spends and preferences.
The report also said that people who were not fans of online gambling are spending the sum of $527 on average annually; This is a revelation when you compare it to the spends of the online gambler who is spending 18 times as much. It was also found that the average or median annual spending of users who claimed lower spends on online gambling, is $856 as compared to the average spend for gamblers who actually stayed away from online gambling which is $128.
Apart from the above, this study also showed the demographics of the high-spending bracket of online casino users which turned out to be mostly 44 years old, unmarried males with a tendency towards marijuana smoking as compared to the other types of gamblers. Most interesting results and insights are expected to continue from this 5 year research that will continue till 2015. It will also be insightful to compare the evolution of the industry and the users in the 5 year time period.
Why Is Online Gambling Becoming More Popular?
While the study shows it to be a fact that online gambling spends are several times more than spends in land based casinos, it does not elaborate on the reasons why. It is interesting to note that a professor of the Concordia University who is also a director of the Addiction research Lab had already gone on record claiming that people spend more in online casinos as compared to land based gaming establishments. Some of the reasons thought to be behind this popularity could be:
- Ready Access : As against, land based casinos, internet gambling can happen 24×7, 365 days of the week without taking the trouble to walk out of your home.
- Privacy: Online gamblers do not have to share details of their hobby with their spouse, children or other extended family.
- At home entertainment: Internet casinos actually rate high in terms of entertainment as compared to other `do at home’ options.
- Controlled environment: Many new and even veteran gamblers find online gambling a more controlled environment in which they can read up, take time and take more informed decisions than in a casino where the tendency to get carried away is higher.