Previously, gaming was a market that was dominated primarily by men. Now, we are seeing more and more women getting involved in many different types of gaming activities. A new report by research firm Mintel finds that women are actually dominated the newly popular social gaming industry.
According to Sky News, Mintel reports that 13% of men and 6% of women in the United Kingdom admit to being ‘hardcore gamers’ while 24% of men and 15% of women state that they are ‘moderate gamers’. The area in which women outnumber men, however, is in the casual gaming sector. 27% of women admit to being casual gamers while 24% of men do the same.
Casual games are those that can be found in the Facebook Games marketplace or those that are played from mobile phones. Games like Candy Crush Saga and Angry Birds are for ‘casual’ players, a market that is dominated by women. This may act as a bridge for more female players to begin gambling online.
There are plenty of social casino applications available on Facebook, such as Zynga Poker and Slotomania, and these games could help to convert play-money gamers into real-money gamblers. Unfortunately, there are also concerns that this type of gaming could be addictive. Casual games require little commitment, so players and pick up where they left off easily. While this seems like a benefit, it may be detrimental for some players.
"We're seeing a more casual, a sort of embedded use of games on mobile devices, such that whenever there's a spare moment someone might start playing a particular game,” says Dr Richard Graham of the Nightingale Hospital in London. “I think understanding that smaller, intelligent, connected devices are increasing access to all sorts of platforms and games does increase the possibility of addiction."
As such, there is certainly a need for increased regulation of social games. It may be time for local politicians to set guidelines to reduce the potential harm that social gaming could cause.
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