One in Three (34%) Ontarians Likely to Watch This Year's Super Bowl
These bets are most likely to be personal ones with friends (64%) or in an office pool (24%), while 21% will be placing their bet through a sports lottery. Just one in twenty (5%) betters are likely to place a wager with a bookie.
This level of betting is not surprising given that one in six (17%) Ontarians indicate that they have placed a bet on the outcome of a sporting event during the past 12 months. Football (63%) ranks, with national sport, hockey (60%), as the favourite sports to bet on according to sports betters. Horse racing (20%), soccer (19%), baseball (19%), basketball (17%), boxing (7%) and golf (1%) rank behind in popularity among sports betters.
Asked to choose among a number of statements as to why they bet or may bet on sporting events, the top responses are "it makes the game more interesting to watch" (33%), "it's something I do with friends and/or people at work" (32%) and followed by "it's fun and I enjoy it win or lose" (26%), while one in twenty (6%) say they bet on sporting events because "it's something I am good at and I usually win money".
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Responsible Gambling Council (Ontario) between January 7th and January 23rd, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 900 adult Ontarians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Ontario population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontario population according to the 2001 Census data.
One in three (34%) Ontarians are likely to be tuned in this Sunday evening to the Super Bowl battle between the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One third (33%) of game viewers in the province are also likely to have a bet riding on the outcome of the game. In total, just over one in ten (12%) Ontarians (which equates to approximately 1,000,000 Ontarians) will likely have placed a bet on the outcome of the contest.
- The most likely to place a wager on this year's game are Ontarians between 18 and 34 years of age (21% compared to 9% of those 35 and older), men (19% versus 6% of women) and those in upper income households (18% versus 11% in middle income households and 7% in lower income households),
- The same groups are more likely to watch this years game, with half of men (48% versus 22% of women) and those in upper income households (45% versus 33% of middle and 26% of lower income households) and 41% of 18 to 34 year olds (compared to 32% of those older than 34).
These bets are most likely to be personal ones with friends (64%) or in an office pool (24%), while 21% will be placing their bet through a sports lottery. Just one in twenty (5%) betters are likely to place a wager with a bookie.
- Younger Ontarians (80%) are the most likely to indicate that their Super Bowl bet would be a personal bet with friends, compared to middle aged (49%) and older (35%) Ontarians. In general older and middle aged Ontarians are more likely to say their Super Bowl wager will be through an office pool (34% and 29% respectively).
- Ontarians in upper income households (72%) more likely to be making personal bets with friends than are those in middle (57%) or lower (49%) income households. Office pools are more likely to be the choice of those in upper (34%) and lower (23%) income households than in middle income households (11%).
This level of betting is not surprising given that one in six (17%) Ontarians indicate that they have placed a bet on the outcome of a sporting event during the past 12 months.
- Men (25% versus 10% of women) and younger (25% versus 15% of middle aged and 13% of older) Ontarians are more likely to have placed a bet on sporting events in the past year.
Football (63%) ranks, with the Canadian past time, hockey (60%), as the favourite sports to bet on according to sports betters. Horse racing (20%), soccer (19%), baseball (19%), basketball (17%), boxing (7%) and golf (1%) rank behind in popularity among sports betters.
- Men who have placed sports bets are more likely than women to have placed bets on football (70% versus 46%).
- Younger (30%) sports betters are more likely to bet on football (71%) or basketball (26%), while older (35%) and middle aged (29%) betters are more likely to have placed a wager at the racetrack than have younger (6%) betters.
Asked to choose among a number of statements as to why they bet or may bet on sporting events, the top responses are "it makes the game more interesting to watch" (33%), "it's something I do with friends and/or people at work" (32%) and followed by "it's fun and I enjoy it win or lose" (26%), while one in twenty (6%) say they bet on sporting events because "it's something I am good at and I usually win money".
- Betters that are likely to be watch in the Super Bowl (31%) are more likely than those who will not be tuning in (7%) to say it is because "it's fun and I enjoy it win or lose."
To view the factum and tables please open the attached PDF files.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
George James
Director of Communications
Responsible Gambling Council (Ontario)
(416) 499-9800, ext 241
Cellular: (416) 706-7368
