Study Shows Whales Fuel Half The Gambling Industry

A latest study to come from the Harvard Medical School and Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment confirms something many in the gambling industry have suspected for some time, namely that high rollers, otherwise known as whales, are fuelling the whole industry.
The study in question was conducted between 2005 and 2007 and observed the habits of 4,222 online gamblers who wagered over at least four days on casino-type games, the overall  result of which was that just 2.8% (119 big losers) generated around half of the casino’s take, with 10.7% providing a massive 80% of the casino’s take. These results are also believed to be applicable to land-based casinos, too.
In addition, the study also concluded that on any given day an average gambler’s chance of winning was around 30% of the time, which then fell to around 11% as the time spent gambling increased. Furthermore, the mean win of such players added up to a mere $150.
Not surprisingly, high rollers are seen as the life-blood of the gambling industry, especially in places like Macau where the vast majority of the $40 billion spent annually is by such marks. Nevertheless, and in spite of the high volume of gambling they indulge in, they are not technically considered degenerates on account of their vast fortunes. At the Galaxy Casino in Macau, for instance, whales are known to gamble 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) a single bet on such games of chance as baccarat.
However, even high rollers even slip into degeneracy and end up losing more than they can afford, such as US businessman Terrance Watanabe who blew an incredible $127 million fortune gambling at two Las Vegas casinos.
The latest study was picked-up by the Wall Street Journal, which concluded that few gamblers actually win in the long run, and that “unless they cheat, about the only way gamblers can win at games of chance is to get lucky and then stop gambling.”