Online poker advocates have trumpeted a recent survey bankrolled by ALL IN Media regarding iPoker regulation in California that says 66% of Californians support legalized online poker.

Approximately 1,500 California voters were surveyed in late May regarding their opinions on iPoker regulation and whether they would play.

While the survey results appear extremely positive on the surface, if one looks closer at the data it seems that maybe voters were a bit swayed in making the "right choice."

Questions Spun to Achieve Positive Answers?

Not surprisingly the questions posed in the survey spun online poker in the best possible light while unregulated websites were portrayed negatively.

Let's look at each question individually. The first was

"Do you/would you want California to pass online poker regulation and create significant tax revenue for the state?"

Significant tax revenue for the state and individual taxes are unaffected. Of course this was going to receive a positive response with 66% of voters saying yes.

Another question was

"Would you feel safe playing on a licensed and regulated poker site that is backed by the state of California?"

Notice again how positive wording is used and how that the game is backed by the state. This received a yes vote from 71% of those surveyed.

Next voters were asked:

"Would you feel safe playing on an unregulated, unlicensed and illegally operating offshore online poker site?"

Negative implications and illegal activity were suggested. Naturally this received an 85% vote of no.

Lastly there was the question:

"Would regulated online poker in California keep you from frequenting California's brick and mortar casinos?"

Considering that those voted have no other choice presently, it is likely hard to imaging gambling solely online and this question received a 71% no response.

The most telling question, and perhaps the one that had the least influence involved whether players would actually play on the site.

When asked, "Would you consider playing poker online in California if it was licensed and regulated by the state of California," only 51% of those surveyed said that they would.

This was an interesting result and showed perhaps a clearer picture of where Californians stand. Half would play and half wouldn't. Essentially a coin flip.

More Neutral Study Needed

While a survey like this is great fodder for iPoker lobbyists it should be taken with a grain of salt as it appears that it was a bit spun to achieve the desired results.

If lawmakers and advocates want a true gauge on the pulse of citizens regarding online poker sites in California they need to do two things. First, present the issue in a more neutral version so that responses that are more genuine can be given as opposed to those that sound correct.

Next, let's get a larger sample size of citizens from around the state. A sampling of 1,500 is a bit small. Perhaps a survey of 10,000 to 25,000 would produce a better overall result.

Do we expect such a neutral survey to be conducted? No. The only group that would even consider such are lawmakers and those interested in the matter already have strong opinions one way or another.