Women and Online Gambling

Statistics reveal that women lag far behind men in overall online gaming. For example, 95% of men play poker online as compared to 20% of women players. Why such a wide disparity?

While it is true that women hold the title for playing online bingo and Miami Club Casino, there has been a concerted effort via marketing campaigns to attract women to play what is considered to be more male-oriented online casino games.

The problem with this idea is that while men gamble with skill and serious determination to beat the house odds, women find online casinos to be more of a social network that offers an entertaining atmosphere where they can spend a few hours of relaxation and enjoyment.

When Texas Hold 'Em poker began appearing as "The World Series of Poker," men would play this game online to hone their skills and subsequently would enter the actual tournaments available from the East to the West Coast. Upon viewing these live tournaments, it would be hard-pressed to find a handful of women engaging in this type of play. Thus, poker became a male-dominated game, both online and in traditional casinos.

However, it is interesting to note that, according to one executive of an online gambling site, "although bingo is female-dominated, one should not think this precludes men from playing this game." In fact, 30% of bingo players are men who not only enjoy social interaction but the community forum as well.

There are casinos that strictly cater to women. One casino has a 70% female player base. This is largely due to the casinos advertising and partnerships with media brands that target a majority of female readers. The case can be made that such marketing techniques can attract women players if the casino is willing to change its format. This would involve not only a favorable climate for women, but incorporate female-friendly participation in poker games to make it more enjoyable for women to play.

Case in point: One casino has increased the number of women gamers by 300%. This is due to their hosting a Ladies Championship game and by using bingo as a catalyst to introduce women to other games in their casino.

Another European online casino has seen an increase of 34% of women poker players. Again, this is due largely to the marketing efforts to attract women to their casino by making the gaming experience less intimidating.

Another marketing method that casinos are beginning to use to bring in more women players is the use of language. That is, tailoring the "language of the game to fit more closely with that used by the female-oriented magazines or websites they choose to target."

While some online casinos will continue to use their marketing expertise to bring more women to its casinos, it will take some time before women become a major demographic force equal to their counterparts. For the time being, at least, most casinos view the small number of women members as palpable, but not the least necessary to their bottom line.