Does government regulation influence consumer trust and choice of poker websites?

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Author(s): Philander, Kahlil S. ; Wimmer, Bradley S.

Journal: Computers in Human Behavior Reports

Year Published: 2025

Date Added: August 28, 2025

In the early days of online gambling, many websites were largely unregulated. To date, more state regulations exist to provide oversight of online gambling. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of state regulations on consumer trust in online poker websites. The researchers conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE), with a total of 783 adults with online poker experience. Participants were presented with pairs of hypothetical poker websites that differed in features such as regulated or unregulated, cost, and site security. Overall, it was found that people were willing to pay a greater amount to gamble on regulated sites. The experiment also revealed that people were willing to pay more to gamble on websites with advanced security compared to sites with less security. These results have potentially important implications for policy makers when designing regulations to oversee online poker websites.

Citation: Philander, K. S., & Wimmer, B. S. (2025). Playing by the rules: Government regulation and consumer trust in the online poker industry. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 17, 100599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100599

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100599

Keywords: gambling operators ; online poker ; regulation

Topics: Information for Policy Makers ; Online Gambling

Conceptual Framework Factors: Gambling Types ; Exposure - Gambling Setting ; Exposure - Accessibility ; Gambling Environment ; Environment - Public Policy ; Gambling Exposure

Study Design: Mixed Methods

Geographic Coverage: Canada ; United States of America

Study Population: The researchers collected qualitative data from a focus group with six participants and three individual interviews, and experimental data from a sample of 783 adults with experience with online poker who were at least 21 years old.

Sampling Procedure: The researchers recruited people for three separate components of the project. First, people over the age of 21 with online poker experience were recruited for a focus group using flyers posted around a large public university campus to complete and discuss a survey that would be used in a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Next, three people with online poker experience were interviewed and asked to assess the revised survey. Lastly, 783 people with poker experience completed the DCE. These participants were recruited through poker websites and poker media websites.

Study Funding:

No specific funding was declared for this study.