New Survey From Peak Entertainment,
NV Reveals Typical Online Casino Player To Be a Mature, Well-Educated and Solidly
Middle-Class Citizen
WILLEMSTAD,
Curacao, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move certain to call into question pre-conceived
stereotypes and intuitive typecasts generally accepted as "facts"
by society at large, Peak Entertainment, NV today released results of what
may be the most comprehensive, unbiased and penetrating survey into the global
community
that's
driving the estimated $4-6 billion online gambling industry. Based on the responses
to a voluntary survey of 2008 active customers and compiled in a 33-page report,
"The Online Casino Player: A Comprehensive Profile" paints an unprecedented
portrait of the typical online casino player that's strikingly free of the negative
images that, until now, have been freely attributed to this fledgling industry
and relatively unchallenged.
Among the revelations included in the report are: -- Regardless of
gender, the typical online casino player is most likely to be a mature, well-educated
and solidly middle class head of household. -- The vast majority of both men
and women online casino players say they do so for "entertainment / fun,"
on their "free" time from their own computers. -- While men say
they prefer to play blackjack and women prefer slots, neither feel their favorite
online activity is illegal or unethical and are highly aware of the time and money
they spend online
Rick Smith, Executive
Director of the Interactive Gaming Council, a
nonprofit global trade association that supports responsible
online gaming
practices and government regulation of the industry,
said, "This research
offers a valuable insight for policy makers and gaming
regulators as to the
demographics of consumers who are participating in
online casino games.
Opponents of interactive gaming use scare tactics
to suggest that the industry
feeds on minors and addicted gamblers, and this is
not true for the
responsible component of the industry. Problem gamblers
and minors gambling are of absolutely no benefit to
the gambling industry, whether land-based or online.
"We trust that data like this, and from other
studies that may be done in
the future, will persuade more governments to consider
how they can regulate
online gaming, rather than undertaking futile efforts
at prohibition," Smith
concluded.
"In light of the often-times heated and one-sided
debate over the status
and role of gambling in general and the slew of misconceptions
and
preconceived ideas of online casinos and their players,
in particular, the
findings of this survey erase completely those misguided
notions," said
Shelley Noon Customer Relations and VIP Manager for
Peak Entertainment, NV.
"This survey underscores that casino gaming --
whether in cyberspace or on
land -- is a widely popular and accepted source of
entertainment by the most
mainstream elements of our society."
"The Online Casino Player: A Comprehensive
Profile" was undertaken by
Gongos and Associates -- an independent, full-service
marketing research
company based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on behalf
of Peak Entertainment.
Data for the profile was collected by means of a customer
survey administered
via the Internet using Gongos' customized software
during November of 2002.
Initial data tabulations were prepared in December
2002, with additional
analyses and the report completed in March 2003.
