Pari Mutuel Urbain Completes 9th Recreational Survey

French gaming firm Pari Mutuel Urbain has released their 9th Recreational survey pertaining to how the country's gamblers gamble.

The survey was conducted by TNS Sofres between March 2nd and 9th, and included 1,000 French punters aged 18-65.

The study revealed:

• The internet, despite being thought to encourage withdrawal from society, in fact acts as a catalyst towards forming genuine personal relationships through the sharing of a passion or hobby.

• The majority of the French say free/leisure time is primarily spent interacting with relatives and friends.

• 41 percent of respondents said they had established friendly relationships, whether brief or lasting, via the internet.

• 50 percent of those have converted a virtual internet contact to a personal meeting.

• 75 percent of those virtual contacts made ​​via the internet often lead to friendships: 75 percent of which led to a friendship, which 4 cases out of 10 was a lasting one.

• The internet is the preferred vehicle in maintaining social ties and relationships.

• 75 percent of respondents interact via the internet regarding their hobbies with other people, for convenience (80 percent) and to create or strengthen links (55 percent).

• 65 percent of those prefer to practice their hobbies with other people, rather than alone, saying they value the friendliness (80 percent), the motivational aspect of a group (56 percent) and the exchange of creativity and strengthening of links (55 percent). 69 percent of these were young people between the ages of 18-24 years who expressed a stronger need to share than other demographics.

• 70 percent of French like to share their family fun via the internet, while 55 percent of those use it exclusively to do so.

• 71 percent of respondents access social networks and 60 percent shopping sites/private sales ahead of forums or blogs (31 percent) and online gaming sites (29 percent).

• Night (71 percent) or cultural outings (62 percent) are usually group affairs.

• The majority of French consider recreation as a family affair (70 percent). 55 percent of respondents considered recreation even more important when done with children and grandchildren.

• Recreation is also considered to be an opportunity to exchange knowledge (60 percent) and is used for personal development (53 percent).