It is no surprise that Filipinos are well-immersed in gambling as a way to recreate and connect with the community, but noteworthy data by Capstone-Intel showed that 32 percent of Filipino women who answered the panel survey are engaging in online bingo.
Capstone-Intel conducted the nationwide panel survey from May 1, 2023 to May 11, 2023, comprising over 1,200 respondents, 51 percent of whom were men while 49 percent were women.
Capstone-Intel is a high-impact research company which uses innovative research technologies, tools, and methods to convert data and information into breakthrough insights and actionable intelligence outputs. It is committed to help its clients solve problems, find solutions, grow markets and constituencies, build reputation, navigate risks, and manage crises; and to be the country’s leading private intelligence agency.
According to the result, 32 percent of the respondents who are into online betting engage in online bingo, outplaying men at 21 percent. This was followed by online gaming at 27 percent and e-casino at 26 percent, respectively.
‘Sense of community’
According to Capstone-Intel’s Research Director Ella Kristina Domingo, Filipino women who are playing bingo play the specific online betting game for a “sense of community.”
“The reason why women are into online bingo is the sense of community. About 32 percent of women who are into online betting play bingo because it is easy to play, low betting cost,” she said.
Domingo also noted that although women play bingo, they tend to be “more conservative in spending because they earn less than their male counterparts.”
Data showed that female respondents, who account for 78 percent of women bettors, bet less than P1,000 pesos compared to male respondents at 61 percent.
The panel survey revealed that although women outplayed men in playing online bingo, the majority of men respondents (32 percent) engage in online betting two to three times per week, compared to women at 26 percent.
Notably, 39 percent of both female and male respondents said that they participate in online betting “to try their luck,” while 32 percent said “to get easy money.”
Young bettors
Capstone-Intel also found out that a significant number of young online betting players (24 percent) aged 18–20 place bets online once a month. In comparison, a more significant percentage of people aged 51–55 (53 percent) and 56–60 (44 percent) place bets online up to three times a week.
However, although the majority of the young respondents are reportedly the biggest players of online betting at least once a month, they are the fewer spenders compared to the older respondents, ages 66–70, who bet P10,000 per game. In contrast, the younger bettors spend less than P1,000 per game.
Growing industry
According to the findings of the nationwide poll, the most popular online betting sites are E-casinos (with 26 percent) and online bingo sites (also with 26 percent), followed by gaming sites (with 24 percent). In addition, online gamblers between the ages of 66 and 70 have admitted that the only games they play are e-casino and e-sabong (cockfighting).
It was also mentioned that more than one-third (38 percent on average) of both female and male respondents who had participated in online betting visited the e-games website. This was followed by OKBet (25 percent), Bet88 (24 percent), and e-sports Bet (20 percent), respectively.
In connection to the growing number of bettors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a 2022 report that when compared to other types of venues within the industry in 2020, gambling and betting services offered the highest number of workers generating over 26,843 (53.7 percent) of employment compared to other amusement and recreation activities with over 14,026 generated employment.
Furthermore, it said that gambling and betting activities were the only industry group that outperformed the national average yearly compensation at P464,610 per paid employee. According to the PSA, the average annual compensation in the said industry group is pegged at P313,770 (28 percent).
With the thriving presence of online betting and gambling, Capstone-Intel emphasized that 53 percent of female and male respondents confessed that they would recommend online betting to their friends, while the remaining 47 percent would not recommend betting or gambling. Capstone-Intel emphasized that the 18-40-year-old age group, primarily women at 55 percent, are likely to recommend gambling to their friends.
