Women play

As the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia drew to an end last Thursday in Macau, one point seems to be worth highlighting amongst the overwhelming flow of information that made the 11th edition of the show: opportunities emerging from a combination of gender and product design in regards to the target consumer public.
As one strolled around the booths’ pavilions and the conference rooms, where talks for and by industry insiders were held, there were clear indications that gambling is still a man’s world.
In addition to the fact that public visitors and exhibitors were mostly male, the expo’s atmosphere was also designed to attract the latter: women welcoming visitors in stands and performing gigs dressed in tight and bright dresses, or costumes emulating gaming-universe characters brought to real life.
If the public is all suits, then, it may seem logical and, arguably compelling, to have female performers providing a touch of ‘feminine charm’ to the show.
I am not a supporter of objectification – far from it – but we know it is more complicated than that when it comes down to male-centric milieus. And that’s the point I am trying to make.
Having men, and a few women, already working to cater to a female audience in their strive to grasp new markets and demographics, so to speak, in gambling, is still a strategy the industry seems to be missing as a whole.
While there may be several historical and cultural reasons for this, gaming itself is not gender-oriented. But the set up for gambling activity may be.
I don’t have answers for this, at least not on a scientific basis. But, in general terms, women may be attracted to different things than those that appeal to men, and that may include features that range from design and ambiance to services and game offer.
It is a recurrent trait in societies across the world that groups form and gather around shared interests and expectations. This holds true for culture, class, and profession. To a certain extent, it also holds true for gender.
Men and women convene and tie, but they also have different topics of conversation, different ways of being in the world and interacting, different interpretations of excitement, safety, sociality, and, perhaps most importantly here, fun.
Ultimately, the question the industry should keep asking at this point is: what is it that makes the experience of play and gambling entertaining for women?