PPA: Majority of Those Playing Poker Online Prefer Regulated Environment
Of the Americans still playing online poker, nearly 90 percent would prefer playing on sites licensed and regulated pursuant to U.S. Federal law, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide. The findings also showed that, despite the Department of Justice’s crackdown of online poker on April 15, 2011, nearly half of online poker players are still playing online poker on offshore sites.
The survey of over 8,000 PPA members was conducted by U.S. Gaming Survey and represents the largest online gambling survey of American players. Participation included all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico and covered all socioeconomic groups.
“Our membership has been increasingly vocal on the need for a licensed and regulated U.S. online poker market and this survey is another example of the growing urgency for Congress to take action,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. “As we move closer to creating the framework necessary to license and regulate this industry while protecting consumers, it is our hope that Congress will use this critical feedback to create responsible legislation that will benefit all Americans.”
“In the over ten years I have been involved in measuring American opinions of U.S. gaming, never have I seen such a remarkable rate of response and thoughtful commentary as I did with this survey,” said Larry Gibbs, VP of Research at US Gaming Survey. “The results overwhelmingly illustrate the fact that U.S. poker players want, and in fact are demanding, regulation.”
Key findings from the survey:
The majority of PPA members are between the ages of 30 and 69 years old and earn an annual income of at least $50,000.
Of the PPA members who play online poker and participate in the state lottery, the majority felt that licensing and regulating online poker in the U.S. would not reduce their discretionary funds for lottery purchases in the future.
The majority of current online poker players (74 percent) felt that licensing and regulating online poker in the U.S. would increase their personal web security and privacy.
The majority of players (81 percent) support new U.S. laws requiring simple and straightforward IRS documentation for online poker winnings, as the current laws that regulate casino gambling are extremely difficult to apply to the online experience.
Finally, should online poker be licensed on an intrastate rather than national basis, only 1 in 7 PPA members would move to another state to play on a licensed and regulated online poker site vs. continuing to play at an online poker site operating outside the U.S.
