76% Of UK CEOs Admit To Making Workplace Gambles

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Three quarters of UK CEOs admit to making workplace gambles on average once a month, most commonly on employees 

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  • 76% of UK CEOs admit they take a workplace gamble once a month, from taking a chance on an employee to taking a chance on a new client or customer
  • Two in five admitted to partaking in some form of gambling at least once a month
  • 30% of UK CEOs admit to having visited a casino in person during office hours

UK CEOs Partaking In Workplace Gambles

The team behind www.cardschat.com undertook the research as part of an on-going study into the habits of successful businesspeople, this time looking at the frequency of which CEOs of UK companies partake in gambling, both in and outside of the workplace. Over 800 UK-based CEOs were surveyed as part of the study, all of whom remained anonymous throughout.

It was initially found 76% of UK business owners and CEOs find themselves making a workplace gamble at least once per month. The most likely gambles were found to be taking a gamble on an employee, hoping for the best (35%) and taking a risk on a new client/customer (21%).

It was then found that as many as three in five UK CEOs (59%) have partaken in some form of gambling outside of the workplace in the past year, with a further 38% admitting to doing so at least once a month. When asked what form this gambling took, 56% enjoy sports betting, while 51% enjoy poker 29% enjoy blackjack. Sports betting was found to be most commonly enjoyed alone (71%), while poker and blackjack and most likely enjoyed as a group with friends (58% and 49% respectively).

Gambling Online

Aside from betting between friends, 17% of CEOs revealed they prefer to gamble online, while a further 13% visit bookies and 8% regularly use casinos. Asked whether they had ever visited a casino during work hours, almost one third of respondents (30%) admitted that they had.

All respondents were asked what industry they are involved in, and from this it was found that CEOs from the sales sector are the most frequent gamblers, with 55% partaking in some form at least once a month. Next most frequent were those from the accounting industry, where 48% admitted to gambling on a monthly basis. The industry with the lowest number of CEOs who gamble on a monthly basis are those in the teaching and education sector (4%).

Meanwhile, the industries where CEOs were most likely to take a gamble in the workplace were found to be recruitment (61%), marketing (54%) and hospitality (50%).

A Sociable Way To Unwind

Debi O’Neill, spokesperson for www.cardschat.com, commented on the findings:

“It was interesting to see that so many CEOs find themselves making workplace gambles on a regular basis, and that taking a risk – or a chance – on some employees tops the list as the most common. Likewise, that so many take part in some form of gambling on such a frequent basis as a sociable way to unwind. You’ve got to be confident when running a business and you’ve got to be confident to bet your own money on a game or a sport; either way, the odds are similar in that if the bet goes the wrong way you’ll have to suffer with the consequences, but if it goes well then you’ll be left smiling. We all take risks, chances and gambles in our lives – even small ones – and we all ultimately hope for the best outcome.”


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