Most North Americans believe online gambling is legal

The survey was conducted earlier this year by market research firm Ipsos Reid as part of a joint U.S – Canada Lottery study amongst 1,006 U.S adults and 1,032 Canadian adults, weighted to ensure balanced demographics and to accurately reflect the composition of the adult population in each country in line with available census data.

The findings of the study which were released last week show that compared to two years ago, more adults on both sides of the border support regulation of online gaming with 49% of Americans and 55% of Canadians in favour.

On the question of the legality of online gaming, 63% of American respondents said they believed the activity to be legal in the U.S, compared to 59% of respondents two years ago. In Canada the belief that online gaming is a legal activity is even higher with 77% of respondents taking this view. Two years ago this figure stood at 72%.

“The idea of Internet gambling appears to be gaining acceptance in North America, with more people expressing an interest to see it legalised with proper regulation,” says Paul Lauzon, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of Ipsos Reid’s Lottery & Gaming Group.

“The regulation issue has the biggest impact on American gambling behaviours. Across the board on a number of gambling, betting, and gaming options, we see that Americans are more concerned with regulation than Canadians. Comparing a number of legally permitted gambling options, Canadian interest in playing remains almost unchanged based on regulation or no regulation. But Americans feel more comfortable in playing betting games and gambling when there is a system of government regulation in place.”

The findings of the survey by Ipsos Reid contradict those of another recent survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University in the United States. According to Fairleigh Dickinson’s random telephone poll of 1,001 adults earlier this year, 67% of respondents were said to oppose the legalisation of online gambling.