Online Poker Report – A recent poll of 505 online gamblers by the research firm Commercial Intelligence (CI) has produced some eye-opening numbers when it comes to player preference between licensed and unlicensed online gambling operators in New Jersey.
According to their findings, which CI spoke about at the ICE Totally Gaming Exhibition held in London, 35% of New Jersey online poker players only started playing after licensed online gambling was launched in the state.
Furthermore, of the 65% of players who were already playing at unlicensed sites, 35% have transitioned to licensed online gaming sites.
These numbers should help bolster the case for legalized online gambling in the US. The data from CI’s poll demonstrates two things:
- A substantial amount of potential online gamblers in New Jersey were unwilling to play at illegal online gambling sites.
- A substantial amount of people willing to play at unlicensed sites have already started transitioning toward legal online sites, showing that they prefer a legal option, but were willing to play on whatever site was available.
The obvious conclusion is that a vast majority of New Jersey online gamblers prefer legal rooms to unregulated rooms, even though the barely two months old legal online gambling industry is still ironing out kinks.
This is a very damaging argument for opponents of regulated online gambling, considering 65% of the current player base in New Jersey was already gambling online prior to legal online wagering being offered.
The idea that banning online gambling will prevent people from playing seems detached from the reality of the situation.
Common sense – and the statistics and data – tells us that if there is a market of people who want to play, illegal operators will step in to fill that void, whether the US has a ban on online poker or not.
A ban may cut into the numbers, but it will not eliminate access to online gaming sites.
