Poker Players Research Ltd., a London research group, has revealed female poker players now account for over 26 percent of online, real-money players -- a metric which has grown 25 percent over the last year and a half.
The group said the most significant upticks in growth have come in the United States and the United Kingdom; Scandinavia, by contrast, was weakest.
Female players, Poker Players Research said, are, on average, younger than male players; they also play less frequently, for lower stakes, at shorter intervals per session than men.
The group said female players prefer to play one type of game and are less likely to play at multiple tables simultaneously.
With regard to site selection, female players are more likely to join poker networks and Web sites via recommendations from friends and less likely to start playing at one of the top 20 sites.
Because female players play for lower stakes, they account for just 13 percent of the rake, the group said.
Meanwhile, 10 percent of female poker players who don’t currently play online for money said they are likely or very likely to start within the next six months.
Of the 26 percent of female online players, all have predicted that over the next six months, they will play more frequently than they do now.
Poker Players Research has projected that by the end of 2009, female players will account for 33 percent of online money players and 20 percent of the rake.