“While hockey is our national obsession, you can expect a lot of Canadians will be mindful of the football’s showcase showdown on Sunday,” says Jason Walker, Vice President with Ipsos Reid’s Gaming and Lottery practice. “Be it the Packers or the Steelers, a lot of Canadians will be betting on the action, through a number of different channels.”

Sports betting is not uncommon and not exclusive to big events like the Super Bowl. In fact, the study also revealed that nearly one in five (19%) Canadians have wagered on at least one professional sporting event in the past year, with hockey (11%) and football (9%) being the two most popular sports.

What’s the profile of a sports gambler? He or she is more likely to be a ‘he’: 23% of men have bet on sports in the past year, while only 14% of women have done so. And the sports gambler is more likely to be young, as it was more popular amongst those ages 18-34 years (26%).

Regionally across Canada, British Columbians are the most likely to bet on sports (21%) while Atlantic Canadians are least likely (11%). These are overall statistics based on the past year.

When it comes to the 2011 Super Bowl, the study revealed that the most popular forms of wagering are placing a bet with a friend, family member, or colleague (7%), and participating in a pool (5%). Only 3% of respondents indicated that they bet on sports by playing games through their provincial lottery and gaming authority.

According to Paul Burns, Vice President of the Canadian Gaming Association, “The interest in sports wagering represents an opportunity for Canadian gaming organizations to deliver new products and services that engage sports fans and capture the excitement around such big events and professional sports. Provincial gaming authorities have room to market and expand their offerings and meet consumer demand for such products.”

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted in association with the Canadian Gaming Association between January 27 to 31, 2011. For this survey, a sample of 1049 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online.

Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe.

A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults who drive and have a car in Canada been polled.

All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

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Calgary, AB – 4 February 2011