The short answer is yes. Women are less impulsive, and independent studies rate them seven-and-a-half times less likely to become problem gamblers than men. In other words, women know how to quit while ahead.
The long answer is more complicated. It’s not that significantly fewer women gamble. When it comes to male vs female gambling, in 2017, the UK Gambling Commission studied what percentage of gamblers are female.
Their search suggests 66% of men and 59% of women partook in some form of wagering that year. This included traditional casino gaming, online gaming, like those formats available on netti casino in Finland, sports betting, as well as the common lottery.
While Finnish men, like most, may have personality traits that make them more inclined towards taking higher risks, the issue has more to do with environmental factors. Consider that twice as many men watch sports on television than women, and we start to get closer to the real reason more men gamble recklessly.
The advertising hook
Consider that television sports are entwined with adverts—gambling adverts, to be precise—and the complete picture comes to light. You’re watching that game of football, anyway. You might as well give it a go and place a bet. Your mates are all doing it, right?
Add to this the broad range of spread-betting formats available, and suddenly sports betting becomes a game of skill. Well, up to a point, it does.
Psychologist Auli Wälkky believes that the personality trait of the average Finnish man makes him more inclined to take that additional risk. She says, “When the chips are down, something about the masculine psyche tells him to go for broke while watching that game. Ladies are far less inclined to do that.”
In addition to the lure of television advertising, it seems that men use risk-taking as a method of dealing with the anxieties caused by social pressure. A projected machismo often masks deep insecurity in men, and they’re more susceptible to peer pressure than they let on.
In some cases, this steers them towards substance abuse or gambling addictions. And the research indicates that women are better able to withstand these pressures. In a 2016 survey by the Gambling Commission, gambling gender statistics showed that 1.2% of men versus only 0.2% of women suffered from pathological gambling habits.
Enter the Casino
Things get interesting when a woman steps into a casino. Auli Wälkky believes that if an experienced female poker player sits around the table, expect her to take full advantage of the male tendency to under-estimate the femininebrain.
It appears that men become their own worst enemy behind the poker table. It’s a turf synonymous with cigars and whiskey. I mean, what’s a woman doing around their green felt table, anyway?
Behind a woman’s feminine facade is an agile mind busy reading men’s body language with far more perception than they’re reading hers.
Award-winning poker champion, Maria Konnikova, has mentioned in the New York Times how she learned to exploit gender bias early on. In her own words: “Once I figure out how they view women, I can figure out how to play against them. There are people who’d rather die than be bluffed by a woman.”
Poker is a far cry from bingo or lottery. It’s where ego steps in to trip up the arrogant. Pride is a terrible thing when it’s coupled with prejudice against female gamblers. If a male opponent falls victim to a fixed gambling pattern exploitable by a woman, perhaps he needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. It’s time to ditch the concept of male counterpart versus female counterpart.
Conclusion
The information above might appear to some as if it’s biased towards women. In reality, both sexes are welcome to use the data to improve their gambling results and net profit.
If you’re a man, now is the time to put aside any preconceptions about women and gender bias, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel. By reconsidering your attitude towards the ladies, you might just come out of the casino with more money in your pocket.
If you’re a woman, you’re well within your rights to exploit any bias and use it to hit the men where it hurts the most: in their pockets!
