There’s a stereotype that online gamblers are older men with too much time on their hands. In reality, people of all ages, races and genders gamble online in the USA. We’ve collected data from almost 160,000 participants in our surveys conducted over the past four years to see how they differ from each other based on age, gender and income level as well as other factors such as marital status and education level.
What Is the Average Age of a Gambler?
While the US population is aging, those who participate in online gambling tend to skew much younger. The average age of an American online gambler in Pokie Spins casino is 44, compared to 47 for sports bettors and 34 for poker players.
Men Aren’t Likely To Gamble More Often
Despite the fact that women are more likely to gamble online than men (women make up 57% of online gamblers), both genders are equally likely to play slots, and men generally place larger wages than women. Men also tend to prefer riskier games like poker and craps while women tend towards table games like blackjack or roulette.
Preferences by Genders
Women are more likely to play slot games than men, while men are more likely to try table games.
- Women: 27% play slots and 22% play table games
- Men: 20% play slots and 28% play table games
Who Are the Most Frequent players?
High income earners are more likely to be frequent players. They are also the most likely group to play on mobile devices and play across multiple sites and devices. The home of the richest Americans remains California.
The majority of adults with college degrees participate in online betting at a slightly higher rate than those who have less education. This trend is also true for sports betting, but there is no significant difference between the two groups when it comes to poker.
White vs Black Players
The average white internet gambler plays at almost exactly the same rate as the average black player. The proportion of black players is a little higher or lower than that of whites, but the difference is small.
American Indians and Alaska Natives are the most likely to gamble online, followed by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Black people are the third most likely online gamblers, while white people are fourth.
The statistics don’t provide any explanation for why some racial groups engage in more online gambling than others but it’s natural to assume that there might be cultural factors at play here.
Frequency
Most USA internet gamblers only log into a casino once a month or less often, even when taking into account betting on sports or playing poker.
This is true even for people who play at casinos and sports betting sites, which suggests that they are not regular users. In fact, this is also true for online poker players: the majority of them play just once per month!
It’s a well-known fact that online gambling is driven by male players, and the data shows this to be true: The average online gambler is a 38-year-old male who earns $100,000 or more annually. In addition to being overwhelmingly male, online gamblers are also disproportionately white compared to the rest of the population — about 74 percent of all Americans identified themselves as white in 2015 according to the Pew Research Center. They also tend to be middle class or better; while only 25 percent of Americans make more than $75,000 annually, nearly half (41 percent) of U.S.-based internet gamblers earn this much or more.
Finally — and perhaps most importantly — online gambling sites have become an increasingly important source of income for colleges and universities across America since 2001. As schools compete fiercely for students at both four-year colleges and graduate programs (both public and private), they have turned increasingly toward revenue streams such as gambling profits in order to make up for budget shortfalls caused by declining taxpayer support
A Final Note
In order to understand this profile, it’s important to understand what a demographic is. A demographic is a group of people who have common characteristics or traits that can be used to classify them based on things like age, gender, income level and other factors. The data in this report was gathered from self-reported information provided by USA Internet Gamblers who voluntarily participated in our survey over the course of six months (from February to July 2022). This data provides insight into how often US gamblers play online games; how much they bet on each game; what games they prefer playing; their preferred betting sites; and more!