US Online Gamblers More Cautious Than Brits

A recent study of US and UK online gamblers by Internet gambling company Betfair has found that American online gamblers are slightly more cautious than their British counterparts.

In light of the global recession, the study found that:

• 52% of American players were playing less this year than they were last year,
• compared to only 48% of Brits.

Betfair, which has a policy of not accepting bets from poker players in the United States because of the legal problems in doing so, also found that more than half of American players were not aware their money could be at risk.

The study found that only 42% of US players and 31% of British players knew about the seizures of over $30 million of funds belonging to thousands of online poker players in New York in June.

It also found a lot of confusion over which sites accept American bets, with 76% of Americans who were aware of the legal issues saying that they moved sites as a result.

Some 88% of Americans aware of the issues said they were concerned about the safety of their funds, compared to 59% of Brits.

Betfair spokesman Richard Bloch said it was very difficult for operators that do not take bets out of the US to compete with those that do.

"This research demonstrates that there are other factors which consumers are taking into account when it comes to choosing their preferred place to play poker online. It's no use having funds in your account if a government is going to seize them - and consumers are obviously aware of that."