A study conducted in the US and Canada revealed that 96% of gamblers identified as low-income individuals who exhibited "irresponsible" spending habits. This information comes from sociologists at the Rand School of Management, University of California. Researchers examined various factors influencing gambling behaviour, including legal online betting's impact on individuals' tendencies and impulses. The study refrained from addressing illicit betting, citing clear reasons for this omission.
Analysis of nearly 700,000 individuals indicated that states with legalised online gambling see increased revenue; however, for consumers, gambling often results in financial losses and can have life-altering consequences—though there are outliers that support this trend. It appears that online casinos are associated with more "irresponsible" behaviour compared to online sports betting.
In Canada, data from a sample of 250,000 online gamblers highlighted that 43% exceeded the advisable limit of wagering 1% of their salary. Notably, 5.3% of participants reported spending over 10% of their income on gambling, while 3.2% admitted to exceeding 15%. This five-year study noted a dramatic rise in online sports betting, increasing from 6 million to 33 million bets.
Additional findings revealed that the average deposit amount was $1,375, with average withdrawals at $742. In terms of market share, DraftKings and FanDuel emerged as the dominant operators in the US based on deposit volume, followed by BetMGM, BetRivers, and TVG, rounding out the top five.
