March 8th was International Women’s Day and while that date has passed now is a good time for the online gaming industry to celebrate gender equality in the online gaming sector. A recent article published in the UK said that online gaming revenues are expected to hit £2 billion this year thanks to an increase of middle class women using online gaming sites. The increase in online gambling in the UK took place after the Labour government lifted a TV and radio advertising ban on casinos, bookmakers and online gaming operators as part of the Gambling Act in 2005.
Unfortunately the Mail article turned out to be more of a propaganda piece for gambling opponents than an objective look at the role of women in the online gaming sector. Online bingo has long been dominated by women and estimates say that over 80% of all online bingo players are women under 40. In 2011 almost half of all British online gamblers were women. 2011 was the last year a comprehensive survey was carried out. The survey showed that at the time 48.48% of all people who play casino games or use online gaming platforms are women.
A British Gambling Preference Survey that while women are gambling online more than ever a large percentage prefer niche areas such as online bingo and slots. Thanks to online gaming women are able to gamble freely without the stigma associated with female gamblers. Because of the increase in the number of female players many online gambling operators are spending big to attract female players. There is plenty of competition in the internet gaming industry and operators that ignore half of the population do so at their own peril.
While online bingo is still the game of choice for women they have been breaking down barriers in other online gaming sectors such as slots, poker and casino games. Many operators now have promotions specifically for women. Women have done very well in the online poker sector and hold their own against male players in tournaments. In the World Series of Poker some satellite games are online and more than a few women have won a seat at top WSOP games by playing satellite tournaments online.
A quick look into many online casinos shows just how far women have come in recent years. PokerStars has a female poker league and many operators offer slots that are tailored to female tastes. Even better women are making their mark in the boardroom at some online gaming companies. Most of the statistics available are from the UK and unfortunately there are no accurate figures for women who gamble online in the United States. Many experts believe that the American online gaming market will open soon thanks to actions by individual states to legalize online gambling.
