Americans Send Mixed Signals On Online Gambling
Saturday, April 23, 2011
rasmussenreports.com
The Justice Department recently cracked down on three top online poker websites, but Americans still appear to have more faith in the private sector than in the government when it comes to gambling on the Internet.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 31% of Adults say they are more likely to trust an online gaming site run by a private company rather than a similar site run by a government agency. Twenty-four percent (24%) place more trust in a government-run website. But it's important to note that a plurality (45%) are not sure which they'd trust more. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
However, Americans who gamble online are overwhelmingly more trusting of a privately-run site than non-Internet gamblers.
In August, a solid majority (61%) of all Americans said if an Internet gambling site was approved by the government, they would be less likely to use it. Thirty-four percent (34%) said in June 2009 that they were less likely to use an Internet gambling site if the government could tax it.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 18-19, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most Americans have no problem with money on the table in a friendly game of poker but have decidedly mixed feelings if that game is shifted to the Internet. Forty-one percent (41%) of adults favor individuals being allowed to play poker or other games for money on the Internet, but just as many (42%) are opposed.
Forty-six percent (46%) of Republicans trust a private gambling site over a government-headed one, but just 18% of Democrats agree. Adults not affiliated with either political party are more evenly divided. But sizable numbers of all three groups are undecided.
Adults ages 18 to 30 and those over 65 are the least trusting of privately-run gaming sites.
In the survey last August, 44% said Internet gambling should be outlawed, while 41% believed it should be legal.
When it comes to generating revenue for a state, 50% of adults favor allowing casino gambling in their own state. Thirty-seven percent (37%) oppose such gambling in their state.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only. |
