A survey commissioned by Probability, the mobile gaming specialist, found that 50 percent of poker players “mistrust” online poker Web sites.
Probability, which announced the results on Sunday, commissioned the survey prior to the launch of its head-to-head poker game.
The company found the results of the survey of more than 2,500 British poker players “striking.”
“We don’t have any axe to grind on this issue,” said Charles P. Cohen, chief executive of Probability, in a prepared statement. “In fact, the reverse is true -- a healthy poker industry is good for us because the more people who are comfortable with playing remote poker, the more business there is for us to shoot for.”
According to Probability, 12.5 percent said they trusted online poker sites, while almost 37 percent said that they “mostly trusted them.” Conversely, about 20 percent of respondents said they have “a lot of doubts” and 31 percent said the sites could not be trusted “at all.”
Probability said that despite this, more than a third of players, or 36.7 percent, still rated online as the favorite poker venue, though more than half decidedly enjoyed home games the best.
Research conducted last year by Poker Players Research show similar results -- with nearly 40 percent of online poker players showing concern that competitors across the table may not be real people but computer programs.