Gambling has become a massive industry, with more online and land casinos opening with each passing year. The combined industry is worth almost $230 billion a year, with the sector providing gambling services to half of the world’s population in some shape or form. Online casinos have an estimated 1.6 billion people visiting annually. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in gambling sites tailored for women, focusing on games typically popular with female audiences. Such sites also tend to encourage a social element between their players.
Increase in Women Poker Players
Poker is an area of gambling with a few prominent female figures; however, it is still mostly male-dominated. Women are encouraged to pick up the cards to counter the male-oriented game at female-only tables and tournaments. That fact highlights Poker’s main issue that male poker players can be outright sexist, from being patronizing to being downright creepy. Many women have tried to get into Poker to find that men treat them poorly, which is off-putting. That isn’t acceptable, and far more should be done to counter that. However, as more women become involved in Poker, Men’s will eliminate those sexist views from Poker’s game forever.
Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa is a former American professional poker player. She is the sole woman to reach number one in the Global Poker Index, besides receiving several other prestigious accolades. Selbst proved that women could be as successful as men and inspired other women to chase their dreams. She’s the first female participant of the Super High Roller tournament. Moreover, she raked in more than $11.8 million in poker winnings over the years, making her one of the best paid female earners in the history of Poker.
Victoria Coren Mitchell
Victoria Coren Mitchell won over $2.5 million in poker tournaments. Her unique talent for Poker was virtually unknown when she became the first female winner of the European Poker Tour back in 2006.
Annie Duke
Female poker players started to appear in the game more frequently, especially on the modern-day poker circuit. That is probably due to online Poker’s introduction, which allowed women to play the casino game without entering an admittedly male-orientated arena. One of the first women to venture into the brave new world was Annie Duke, who held the highest female earner in Poker for many years. In 2002, while at the World Poker Series. Championship, Duke managed to finish in tenth place despite the fact she was nine months pregnant. Two years later, Duke won at the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and, in 2010, triumphed at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Annette Obrestad
Annette Obrestad has a similar story, though she entered into Poker’s world at a much earlier age. Obrestad burst onto the poker scene at just 15 years old, and by the age of eighteen, she had already earned more than $835,000 in poker winnings. She’s the youngest player in history to win a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet, which she claimed during the 2007 Europe tournament.
Jennifer Harman
Jennifer Harman is Doyle Brunson’s former girlfriend and fellow Professional Poker Player, Todd Brunson. During that time, she met Daniel Negreanu as Todd Brunson took a stake in Daniel Negreanu during the first tournament that the latter won and Harman collected Todd’s share of the prize money. A deep friendship quickly developed between Harman and Negreanu, and Harman finally instilled a degree of discipline in Negreanu, particularly concerning playing within his bankroll. For anyone who watched Poker during the Poker Boom, it is almost a guarantee that you have heard of Jennifer Harman. She has made a wide range of final tables and appeared on popular poker shows such as Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. Despite her peers’ reputation as a cash game player first woman who regularly plays in the Big Game at the Bellagio Casino, Jennifer Harman is one of only two women to have two WSOP Bracelets her credit.
Denise Coates
Women’s achievements are not limited to Poker and gambling. When it comes to the gambling industry, there are some supremely successful women in the gambling industry. Denise is a genuine powerhouse, having started an online betting operation in her backyard way back in the early 2000s. That start-up slowly transformed into a multi-billion dollar online betting company called Bet365, of which she is still the CEO.
More Women Gamblers
Apart from Poker, many women are into online slots with a variety of themes directed at women. It is hard to find official statistics regarding women in gambling; however, online casinos are reporting record levels of female participation in all areas of gambling. Roulette and Poker are among the more popular for women, with slot machines coming in a close third place. Online gambling is prevalent among women as they can avoid male chauvinism evident at land casinos, thereby creating a safer and more relaxed gambling environment. The trend will likely continue as more slot titles directed at women are released.