Study: Online gambling fails to find traction with Asian-Americans

[The Buzz]

Last week, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) released a National Detailed Report and State Detailed Reports as a comprehensive follow up to The National Survey of Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences (NGAGE).

Of the many findings, one revealed that about 80% of Asian-Americans gamble, but only 21% are doing so online, making them this the second-least represented demographic group. Only Black US gamblers are less likely to gamble online (19%).

From Online Poker Report:

Some caveats are necessary. NCPG’s research took place just before pandemic restrictions shut down land-based casinos. That event brought many people to online casinos who weren’t playing there previously. There are also many more states with legal online gambling now than there were at that time. Thus it’s possible that more Asian-American gamblers have joined the online ranks in the time since the NCPG conducted its survey.

All that said, it seems unlikely that Asian-American gamblers will have surpassed the online adoption rates of other racial and ethnic groups. This isn’t a small difference, but rather a gulf between Asian-Americans and the most represented demographics. White respondents topped the NCPG’s list, with 33% saying they gamble online.

One marketing vendor was willing to share some insight, however.

Among the nearly 19 million people of Asian heritage who live in the US, Audience Acuity could only identify 165,123 Asian-American gamblers who it considers prime targets for marketing. These gamblers inhabit online and offline worlds, said Riad Shalaby, the company’s chief marketing officer. Audience Acuity specializes in finding valuable customers for online businesses in the new, mobile, cookie-less world.

Part of the reason for that low number is Shalaby’s Las Vegas-based “consumer identity management firm” allows members of its database of 237 million US adults to self-report their race or ethnicity. A little over half did so, representing about 39% of the total US population.

Among those 128 million Americans, only 165,123 self-identify as being both Asian-American, and in the group Shalaby determines to be the most desirable audience for gambling organizations. This, it defines as people who are 21 or older, earn at least $50,000 a year, have a net worth of $25,000 or more, can boast of credit ratings of 650 points or higher, and self-report having an interest in gambling.

Read more analysis here: https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/48...amble-offline/

Other key findings from the report:

Most who gamble appear to do so without negative consequences. While for methodological reasons the survey was not designed to assess the rate of gambling disorder, 70 percent of gamblers reported never experiencing any of the four risky gambling behaviors covered by the survey. However, 7 percent reported experiencing at least one of these behaviors “many times,” with most of these reporting only one frequent problematic behavior.

Young adults appear to be at higher risk for gambling problems. Half of those under 35 responded “yes” to at least one indicator of risky behavior. By contrast only 10 percent of gamblers over the age of 65 responded “yes” to at least one indicator.

Sports bettors appear to be at particularly high risk. They are three or more times as likely than those gamblers who did not bet on sports to report frequent risky behavior. Those betting weekly on sports are five or more times more likely to report frequent risky behavior. These disparities are even greater for those playing fantasy sports. We do not know, however, if sports betting results in risky behavior, or if those who are more prone to risky behavior are drawn to sports betting.

Read the NCPG report here: https://www.ncpgsurvey.org/ngage-nat...tailed-report/

[Pokerface]

Wow, very interesting statistics. Quite surprising actually.

[rmeeuwsen]

80% is an amazing statistic!

I wonder how that compares to other groups?

[Nenad]

So interesting, but 80% is a high percentage.

[HIRO]

If 80% is accurate, it's a very extreme trend, and it would be interesting to know why it has become such a trend.