2012 U.S. Online Poker Survey

One of the most compelling questions asked in the USGS survey was whether poker players would be willing to vote against their registered party if the other presidential candidate supported online poker legalization and regulation. The survey asked respondents which party they were registered with and also which state they resided in.

In every swing state and “election fringe state” respondents overwhelmingly stated they would be willing to vote against their traditional party provided the other candidate supported online poker and their candidate did not. As can be seen in Illustration 1, 60% of voters in Ohio and North Carolina, and 66% of voters in Florida indicated they would be willing to switch their votes. The other swing states ranged from a low of 54% in Colorado to a high of 73% in Iowa. The cross section of respondents from each of the swing states also indicated no major significant difference in the party they traditionally supported.

Illustration 2 shows in key election state Florida, respondents supported Democrats and Republicans equally. In Ohio Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans and in North Carolina, Republicans are a bit higher than Democrats. But in every state the undeclared figure is significant.

Without question, these figures could skew the results in the direction of one presidential candidate should they be willing to take on the cause of legalized online poker. There are thousands of poker playing enthusiasts in Florida and their numbers from both the survey and the polls reflect the state is in a virtual dead heat. A declaration from either Obama or Romney supporting online poker legalization and regulation could definitely skew the results.

One must remember that in 2006, the Iowa Congress figures were locked in a similar dead heat. A significant lobby by the PPA to Iowa poker players helped defeat Jim Leach (R) in his bid for re-election.

There has been some spirited commentary that the Republican Party has no incentive to petition for the legalization and regulation of online poker because most Republicans don’t consider the issue of major importance. Moreover there is a belief that few Republicans actually play online poker. In the survey we asked respondents if they play online poker and then asked them which party they supported.

The survey clearly shows that playing online poker and the desire for legalization and regulation stateside is not a partisan issue. Illustration 3 shows that just under 50% of each party’s affiliates are playing online poker and in fact slightly more Republican than Democrat voters are currently playing poker online.

As well, the PPA petitioned poker players to write a letter to the U.S. Congress asking for changes to the laws exempting poker from the UIGEA, citing it is a game of skill. The survey asked respondents whether they indeed ever wrote a letter asking for changes to the law and Illustration 4 indicates that an exceedingly high number (almost 80%) of people did indeed write letters. Party affiliation was not a factor in their motivation or skewed the results.

While the Presidency is obviously the main focus of the November 2012 elections, it is significant to note that the country will also be voting for U.S. Congress and 33 U.S Senators that will have great influence in potentially legalizing and regulating online poker (or not).. The survey asked respondents whether their local candidate’s opinions on online poker would influence their vote for these Congressmen and Senators.

A whopping 75% of respondents indicated their votes for Congress and the Senate would be influenced by their local politicians stated support for legalized online poker.

Illustration 5 marks there is no difference in opinion between declared Republican and Democrat voters. Illustration 6 shows that in the seven main Congressional toss up states most voters are willing to throw their votes to local politicians taking up a legalization & regulation cause. Those figures range from a low of 56% in New Mexico to a high of 79% in Missouri.

A key question of the U.S. Online Poker Survey 2012 asked “Whether poker players would be willing to vote against their usual party if the other candidate supported online poker legalization and regulation?”

The comprehensive demographic query (sex, age, group, race, religion, etc.) provided a panel reference to examine how potentially different or the same all people are reflecting upon their online poker playing habits vs. their political beliefs.

A whopping 75% of respondents indicated their votes for Congress and the Senate would be influenced by their local politicians stated support for legalized online poker.

The U.S. Online Poker Survey was conducted during the period of June 25th – July 9th, 2012. Survey invitations were sent out upon cooperation to 100,000 members of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) of Washington D.C. chosen at random from a panel dataset consisting of current and formerly active U.S. online poker players. Participants responded to a balanced 37 question survey devoting an average of less than five minutes of their time. Respondents were entered into a sweepstakes drawing to win a Kindle Fire mini tablet computer as a response incentive. The random drawing to win the prize was held on July 10th 2012.

This methodology provided an accurate behavior forecast gauging the pulse of future online poker play in the United States. The U.S. Online Poker Survey 2012 received responses from all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C. plus Puerto Rico. The expansive report covered all socioeconomic groups and featured an impressive 11% response from women. An authoritative panel response of 3,415 Poker Player Alliance active and inactive members resulted in one of the largest surveys of current U.S. Internet poker players and one of the largest online gambling studies to serve the casino industry and private gaming lobby sector since 2006.

A bonus featured 1.019 insightful comments from panelists providing their unbiased views for or against online poker regulation. A special panel section also provided timely views for online poker player opinions potentially shaping the November 2012 U.S. Presidential elections.