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How Gender Effects Distinctive Gambling Habits

Going back just 50 years and it would be a rare thing indeed to find the fairer sex gambling, either in the traditional betting shop or the casino. Money, and it's spending, was the domain of the male gender, with many women receiving a weekly "allowance" from their husbands. Back then, financial decisions were made by the male gender. Today, there's more gender equality, even when it comes to gambling. Whether online or off, women gamble almost as much as the men, though the games may differ.

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Introduction: How Gender Effects Distinctive Gambling Habits

If you happened to come across the photograph taken over 50 years ago of the inside of any casino, one of the first things you’ll notice is that it’s packed with men. In fact, in many photographs of casinos you will not see a single female. Traditionally, the gambling industry was a bastion of male players. From football to casinos, and from greyhound racing to horse racing, you would rarely find a woman present. According to traditional roles, the gentler gender would be at home minding the cooking and the kids.

Today things that are very different. If we look at global gambling statistics, we can see that based on gender, the betting audience is now made up of 56% man and 44% women. What’s more interesting is that since the advent of online casino gambling, nowadays more women play than men. But what’s of interest to us today is to see how men and women differ in their preferences and gambling habits. Do men tend to bet in a certain way and women in another? What jackpot games does each gender favour?

Gambling Habits According to Gender

Gender research shows that there are considerable differences between male and female gamblers. These range from risk appetite, to enjoyment, to the individual motivations. An example would be, that a recent survey in the UK, found the most popular online gambling activity for men is sports betting. In fact, of those surveyed, 73% said that sports betting was their primary interest. This was followed by online poker which came in at just 30% and then online bingo with just 28%.

The same questions for female gamblers found that online bingo was the most popular with 60% of respondents saying it was their favourite game. Although sports betting proves popular with women, only 40% of those surveyed said they were regular sports bettors. Online slots are very popular with women, with 34% saying that was their number one gambling activity. As for male slot players, only 26% said that they played slots on a regular basis. When it comes to playing the slots, we recommend King Billy Casino. It has a huge selection of slots and some great prizes.

With the casino game of roulette, 27% of men and 19% of women said the game was popular for them. With blackjack the gender divide gets narrower, and 23% of males and 80% of female gamblers claimed it was their game of choice. One thing the research did show, and that was that for males, the playing of online bingo is growing at a steady rate. It’s odd because if one looks back over the last 100 years, you can see that playing bingo at the bingo hall on a Friday night was really just a pastime for the female gender.

Gender in Gambling Motivation

Knowing which games are popular between the genders is one thing, but knowing the motivations for gambling in the first place is another. The real question is whether there is a gender difference between the way males and females are motivated to gamble. Once again, the answer is a resounding yes, but the differences between genders is not as great as found in individual games choices.

When it comes to gambling and the hope and intention of winning money, then if you’re a male gambler, 57% said you gambled in order to increase your jackpot winning chances. The same motivation affects around 55% of female gamblers. So in that respect it’s a close run thing. Around 19% of males said they turn to gambling because they were bored which increased to 23% for women citing the same reason. When it comes to gender and gambling for the fun, then around a quarter of both men and women agreed.

If we’re looking at the UK gambling market place, then the study in question threw up a number of interesting factors. The most outstanding for obvious reasons was the disproportionate number of online bingo players in Wales when compared to Scotland. The former this was 52% of respondents and for the latter 35%. If we take the East Midlands for example, then we can see a preference for sports betting in 47% of males whereas moving a little further north we can find the comparable interest being 65%. To that end, it’s not just gender affecting your choices but also your location.

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Gender Risk Versus Reward

That gambling is supposed to be about having fun and passing sometime immersed in a hobby, the reality is actually very different. In spite of what many gamblers might say, we are certain that their primary motivation is to win the jackpot online. A recent UK survey asked gamblers what they would do if they won £500 online?

Most of the respondents said that they would hang on to their winnings. But 13% of males said that they would attempt to win more by gambling with this £500. This compares with just 19% of female respondents. Also we can see that the appetite for risk varies depending on age group. For example, gamblers who are aged between 25 and 34 years old are more inclined to look for a winning streak and gamble in the hope of winning more. Gamblers, both male and female, over the age of 55 will be much more cautious and far more likely to put these winnings into savings.

Gender Effects: Where You Gamble From

The same survey we’re quoting also asked the different genders about the unconventional places where gamblers gamble from. As you’d probably guess, gambling while sitting on the toilet is incredibly popular, with 27% of men and 23% of women saying that they do so on a regular basis. 10% of both sexes claimed to be happily gambling whilst waiting in the waiting room at the hospital. Far more disturbing is that 8% of both male or females claim to have gambled whilst at the wheel of their car. And we’re talking about a car being driven as opposed to being stationary. This statistic really boggles the mind and let us know just how sick and selfish some people can really be.

When asked if they would gamble at a family member’s wedding or funeral, then 12% of men said they would and this compares with 8.4% of women. Maybe this proves that it’s much easier for the male gender to distract themselves whilst doing important things or partaking in emotional occasions. Though we must confess that visiting online casinos to win the jackpot during a funeral is pretty bad form. Unless it’s at King Billy Casino! With a welcome bonus of a massive 151% up to €/$500 + 51 bonus spins, we should concentrate on living and having a good time, and let the dead bury the dead,

Finally the question was asked, whether these gamblers of either gender would use an unlocked account belonging to a friend if they happened upon it? Luckily only a handful of both sexes admitted they would do so. As gamblers have got to gamble, then we suggest you keep your phone locked at all times, even with your gambling friends around. Whatever their gender. You never know until it’s too late, and sadly, it will lead to your friendship going the same way as your money.