CSIG targets Pennsylvania in questionable new poll

The Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, an action group funded by land casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has published the results of a survey it has commissioned that purports to show that the majority of Pennsylvanians do not want legalised online gambling.

The study was carried out by polling firm Harper Polling, which is a “robo-polling” (automated calls) outlet, mainly for Republican interests.

The automated survey company was founded after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential contest despite Republican polls predicting he would achieve a significant majority, and seeks to provide the party with “high volume, inexpensive robo-polling,” reports the publication Poker News Daily.

The Pennsylvanian study, perhaps motivated by the progress being achieved on legalisation in the state, involved a sample of 513 respondents, roughly .01 percent of the 5.67 million voters recorded in the state as turning out for the 2012 presidential election.

Based on this, The Harper poll came to the conclusion that:

* 73 percent of respondents were opposed to internet gambling;

* 68 percent of respondents felt that internet gambling was completely different to traditional gambling;

* 54 percent of respondents felt that they were more likely to vote against a Pennsylvanian lawmaker who supported the legalisation of online gambling.

Aside from the sampling size, Poker Daily News correctly observed that the study has not followed usual professional practice of giving details of the way in which questions were framed (a potentially key point in influencing the end result).

The poker publication does point out, however, that at the end of 2013 a study by the respected Quinnipiac Poll showed that, while Pennsylvanians were supportive of legalised gaming (55 percent), and the expansion of traditional gambling in the state (70 percent), they were less enthusiastic about online gambling due to fears about problem gambling (62 percent).

The absence of other, perhaps more objective, studies would seem to be desirable following this potentially skewed CSIG effort.