Gambling is a pastime that is several millennia old. Evidence shows that people have bet on games with random events since Mesopotamian times. But the reality is that this activity has likely been around since humans attained the mental capacity to conceive of it.
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Traditionally, it has always been men who have gambled. That has been the case for myriad reasons, the primary one being that they were the ones who had the disposable income needed to engage in betting hobbies. Until the cultural revolution and the mid-20th century, women mainly stayed at home and were responsible for maintaining households and raising children. Moreover, men are more impulsive than women. And they are more likely to partake in risky behaviors. Various studies also cite that sensation-seeking and the ability to perceive positive outcomes in uncertain situations is more prevalent in males and that this has also led to their overrepresentation in gambling. Plus, it was long taboo for women to enter gaming dens and bet, as this was not the social norm, restricting them from trying their luck with casino-style wagering to avoid the social stigma associated with them exploring this arena.
However, today, thanks to the miracles of modern technology, smartphones, and the internet, anyone can gamble from anywhere at any time, and research shows that this freedom has allowed women to dive into this entertainment form. According to a 2020 UK report, up to a million British women got categorized as at risk of getting harmed by gambling. Although the number of those addicted to this behavior is still chiefly composed of disproportionately more males, the noted figure is still staggering and has left many stunned. This is also a trend that is slowly getting established the world over. Per Australia’s Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, in the Land Down Under, women now gamble almost as much as men (68.2% compared to 69.9%). So, below, a swift analysis follows on why this is happening and what experts predict are the odds that this global tendency will continue.
Why Do Women Gamble?
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Most people would answer that everyone gambles for financial benefit. Nevertheless, while that is a strong driving factor, it does not always hold true for all. Many individuals like public betting for the social interaction this activity can provide. And others do so to lessen some daily stress. The latter is a common cause of why a decent majority of women turn to this entertainment form. Often, it acts as a valve for them to relieve anxiety, a tool to enjoy a bit of escapism and free themselves of daily worries.
Naturally, online accessibility, clever marketing practices, and psychological traits always play a role in attracting people to these seemingly leisure pursuits.
According to Doctor Simone McCarthy of Deakin University, the number of females gambling is vaster than most data suggest because they get underrepresented in research. She also believes that even before the global COVID-19 pandemic, online gambling’s popularity among women was surging. Nonetheless, the government-issued lockdowns spiked it, as stay-at-home measures inadvertently exposed many women in Australia to Internet games of chance, who used them as a means to try and escape the loneliness, boredom, and stress incurred by limited social activity.
Why Is Online Gambling More Attractive to Women?
Convenience and anonymity. As mentioned above, while the stigma surrounding female gamblers has dramatically diminished over the past century, many still do not want this label attached. Hence, the online sphere represents a safe space where women can enjoy gaming entertainment with little social anxiety about what others may think. In general, most studies show that women are more prone to experience social anxiety compared to men in most age periods. So, the enticement of private betting should come as no surprise.
Furthermore, the gambling sector has previously not targeted women. But now that this player pool is wide open, they are putting their best foot forward by creating brands that feature gaming products that cater more to females. That refers to more lottery-oriented games and colorful slots, as seen in Lady Linda Casino review, an analysis of a platform that primarily seeks to appeal to female players. It even features a cute granny for a mascot to disarm users and fashion a pleasant vibe.
The focus on lottery-like games is not without basis, something platforms have adopted on instinct. It is because the latest data shows that female participation in British nationwide lottery draws, bingo, and scratch card ticket purchases for those that fall into the 35-54 age group is only slightly lower than the males from this category. That information is from an official UKGC report that mentions that younger women have a more sizeable fascination with slot machines than those above the age of thirty.
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It should get added that high-profile gambling sites also try to expand their women user bases by crafting novel promotions like raffle draws, social media giveaways, betting contests, and more. These are promos that appear colorful and fun in nature. That is particularly accurate from many UK-based operators, who now try to boost social features on their platforms, meaning implementing chat rooms, multiplayer options, and other interactive features, on top of creating fantasy, romance, and pop-culture themed-slots they know women are more likely to love. Some have even gone to supplying educational resources on the web as a device to educate wider audiences, including females, on how to gamble, hoping that this will drive traffic to their gaming hubs.
Will Even More Women Start Gambling?
That is super probable, as research shows that this pastime is becoming normalized for women at a rapid pace. Newer tech has removed much of the pressures linked with public betting, and influencer marketing, through affiliate schemes, is slowly but surely expanding the number of female gamblers, as it has opened doors from advertisers and demographics.
