In our national survey conducted in November 2011, we asked Canadians whether or not they have ever gambled online, the chart below represents the percentage of each generation who said “yes”.

Millennials and Generation X’ers (ages 31-44) were much more likely to have gambled online, 15% and 14% respectively, compared to the baby boomers (8%) and the greatest generation (3%). This is in-line with the levels that each generation has adapted to the use of technology.

We then asked those who gambled online what type of games they played, the majority of both Millennials and non-Millennials played poker online. One in ten (11%) of Millennials who gambled online played poker very often and another three in five (58%) played sometimes. Nearly one-fifth (18%) of non-Millennials who gambled online played poker very often and just about half (47%) played poker sometimes. Millennials bet on sports online more often than non-Millennials, 14% bet very often and 28% bet sometimes, while with non-Millennials only eight percent bet very often and 26% bet sometimes. Non-Millennials much preferred casino style games online to millennials, with 45% of non-Millennials playing them compared to only 32% of Millennials.

Although only a small portion of millennials gambled online, it is a substantial increase from their parents’ generation. If and when we gamble online we choose to spend the bulk of our time playing the most social option we have, which is not surprising given our love of online communities. If the other forms of online gambling could build more social aspects around them, it would not be surprising to see even further participation from millennials.

Find out more about how we can help your business connect with and understand Canadian Millennials.