Women make up about one third of the social casino games market according to a new poll from International Game Technology and its DoubleDown Interactive division.
The number of women playing online social casino poker games was up 22 percent in 2013 compared to the year before, the survey said.
The finding comes as the social casino games market has been exploding in popularity. Social games are non-gambling games where players can buy virtual chips with real money, but cannot cash out their winnings.
Estimates say the social-casino game market hit $2 billion in 2013 and could reach $4.4 billion by 2015.
DoubleDown and IGT reviewed the demographics of six million people who play DoubleDown casino games on Facebook or a mobile device every month.
“As the world’s largest virtual casino, we pay attention to trends and make note of the fact that the poker is appealing to broader audiences both online and on the casino floor,” said John Clelland, the vice president of global marketing at IGT Interactive Group in a press release. “Poker is traditionally thought of as a male-dominated game, but our data proves that female poker players are on the rise in social casino.”
