A new independent study based on 1,027 respondents and commissioned by the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego – Spains online gambling regulator – suggests that online poker players are on average better educated than the average player encountered in online gambling.
The interesting results gleaned from the recently completed survey suggest that:
* The average online poker player is male and aged under 34 years; 81 percent of online poker players are male;
* He does not succumb to compulsive gambling as easily as other punters;
* He is generally better educated – 52 percent of respondents graduated from university, and 9 percent has a post-graduate degree – that compares with general gamblers, where 48 percent have university degrees and 8 percent post-grad qualifications;
* He typically devotes an hour per session when playing – significantly longer than more general gamblers – 83 percent of respondents said they usually spend at least 60 minutes per session of online poker. That compares with 58 percent for online bingo fans, and 57 percent for online casino players.
* He tends to play more frequently – 16 percent of respondents said they play daily; 39 percent said they played once a week on average. That compares respectively with 11 percent daily and 50 percent weekly for online sports punters;
* He can shift focus more readily; 47 percent said they immediately stop playing if a business or personal issue of importance arises – substantially higher than online casino players (30 percent) and slots players (27 percent);