Whether it’s a better understanding of female participation rates in online gaming, the rise of female-first online casinos, or concerted efforts to increase the current underrepresentation of women in ICT and tech industries, there is no doubt that the long-standing perception of online gaming as being an almost exclusively male preserve is changing, and changing fast.
Women and online gambling
Recent research has found that women are participating in online gambling at greater rates than had hitherto been thought, as well as playing a more diverse range of games, and more often, than had previously been assumed.
In the UK, for instance, more than 43% of those who gamble online regularly are women, a figure that is higher than expected and which appears to be growing year by year. Within this overall number, there are some further surprising statistics as to the sorts of online gambling women are engaged in: with regard to sports betting, 40% of regular punters in the UK are women, a much higher number than had previously been supposed, while in the previously female-dominated game of bingo, only 60% of regular players were women, demonstrating that traditional gender boundaries are undoubtedly shifting.
Younger women are also gambling online at far greater rates than had been supposed, with the average age being 29 (as opposed to 33 for men). Technology and accessibility no doubt have played significant roles in this changing age demographic, and for young women who have essentially grown up with mobile phones and the internet, it seems a logical extension of their already active online lives that gambling online should be a part of their regular entertainment.
Impact on the online gambling industry
There is no doubt that increased participation rates by women in online gambling has impacted significantly on the industry. This is clear to see in a number of ways: the types of games that are offered, how online casinos and sports betting sites market themselves; and the rise of the female friendly online casino.
Anyone who takes even a casual look at the operators who make up the top 5 casinos today will see that there has been something of a revolution in online casino branding and design. The gaming environment is now much more welcoming and inclusive at the leading sites, as they have moved away from an emphasis on Las Vegas-style values (dark red and black color schemes, images of scantily-clad hostesses, etc.) to a more modern, colorful look with a far greater emphasis on engagement and interactivity, focusing on the social and entertainment elements of online gaming just as much as the games themselves.
Characters with whom players can identify, along with strong back-stories that gives sites individual character, have come to the fore, and this has no doubt been influenced by the greater number of women playing at online casinos who may have been put off by the obvious masculinity of an earlier generation of sites.
Female First Casinos
In turn, this has also created a whole new category of online casinos that are designed to appeal directly and explicitly to female players. These brands take a different approach to enticing new players and retaining their existing ones through establishing and nurturing relationships rather than simply offering bigger and better bonuses.
This is most obvious not only in the design and color schemes, but in the language used as well. The images tend to be more fun and there is much more emphasis on interactivity, where players are encouraged to engage with the characters on the site, and to take part in ‘missions’ or ‘adventures’, which are essentially contemporary, more entertaining twists on the traditional casino loyalty scheme.
At the same time, online bingo sites, which have always been spaces dominated by female players, have also adapted and responded to changing demographics by consciously appealing to younger women through contemporary designs, again with more emphasis on the social and fun elements of the game, as well as creating greater accessibility through mobile bingo rooms. This is also reflected in the advertising approaches currently being taken by online bingo operators.
Games producers are also responding to the changing faces of their players by producing, for instance, greater numbers of online slots games that either have a more gender-neutral, universal appeal (although the vast majority of titles are, it can be argued, still very much targeted at men), alongside games that are explicitly designed to appeal to women.
Leading Women in Online Gaming
Just as there has been a shift in the extent to which women participate in online gaming, there has also been an active push to grow the number of women working in tech generally, but in the online gaming industry in particular.
It has no doubt been a significant boost to the industry to see an increasing number of women assuming the top jobs, and women now have senior executive roles in many of the world’s leading online gambling companies, with diverse portfolios of responsibility and experience. Some of the most notable figures include:
Denise Coates CBE, founder and joint chief executive of Bet365, now one of the world’s largest online gambling companies.
Ebba Arnred, Chief Marketing Officer at Play’n GO, who is responsible for media strategies, PR and digital advertising at the successful multinational producer.
Lydia Barbara, Head of Innovation Strategy at Microgaming, who is responsible for generating and growing innovation across the online gaming giant.
Caroline Klytseroff, Key Account Manager at RakeTech, the leading iGaming affiliate marketing company, who was previously the Senior Affiliate Manager at Hero Gaming.
Isabelle Andrès, until February 2017 the CEO of Betclic Everest Group, who during her four years in the role oversaw the Malta-based company’s return to the iGaming market in Portugal and the relaunch of its Monte Carlo brand.
