Competition between nations has been around for centuries, with sport being the main focal point for rivalry between countries. Now, more than ever, we’re also seeing an increase in popularity of eSports and board and card games, with individuals challenging each other all over the world for championship prizes and huge sums of money.
But with competition comes the temptation of playing against the rules. Bingo game comparison site, Bingoscanner has used search volume to show which countries are most likely to cheat during a game. Including terms such as ‘how to cheat’, ‘how to win’ and ‘cheat code for’, the study analysed which country has the highest search volume per month and may therefore be more likely to be cheating.
Alongside this, the research looks into which countries are the most successful in eSports and board and mind games, such as poker and chess. Finding the number of players per nation, total winnings and number of champions, it reveals how competitive countries truly are.
You can find more information on the study here: https://www.bingoscanner.com/competitive-consumers/
Brits Ranked As The Country Most Likely Cheat During Board & Video Games
We start off games with the intention of winning them, but how far will people go to claim victory? Based on search volume we determined which nations are guilty of cheating most often.
Rank |
Country |
Total Search Volume* |
Population |
Search Volume per 100,000 Capita |
1 |
United Kingdom |
10,080 |
67,886,011 |
14.85 |
2 |
Ireland |
630 |
4,975,285 |
12.66 |
3 |
New Zealand |
580 |
4,822,233 |
12.03 |
4 |
Australia |
2,640 |
25,499,884 |
10.35 |
5 |
Hungary |
880 |
9,660,351 |
9.11 |
6 |
United States |
28,870 |
331,002,651 |
8.72 |
7 |
France |
3,400 |
65,273,511 |
5.21 |
8 |
Korea |
2,430 |
51,269,185 |
4.74 |
9 |
Italy |
2,570 |
60,461,826 |
4.25 |
10 |
Mexico |
4,450 |
128,932,753 |
3.45 |
*Average search volume per month between March 2020 and February 2021 for terms, ‘how to complete, how to cheat, how to win, cheat code for, how to cheat in uno/chess/cards/poker/monopoly/ludo/scrabble, how to win in uno/chess/poker/monopoly/ludo/scrabble’.
The United Kingdom is ranked as the country most likely to cheat when playing video and board games. When calculating the average monthly search volume for the key terms and finding the results per 100,000 capita, the UK is top, followed by Ireland and New Zealand.
Analysing search volume results alone, United States consumers search more than 28,000 times a month for ‘how to cheat’ and ‘how to win’ certain games – a concern perhaps if you’re playing with your friends.
Denmark Revealed As The Most Competitive Country
It’s not just board games that countries that awaken the competitive spirit in us. Online gaming is on the rise, especially since the eSports scene has grown out into serious business. But which country is most competitive here, and how much money is earned by playing games? We looked at the number of players per capita alongside the total earnings per capita to determine the most competitive nation.
Rank |
Country |
No. of current champions in board, mind and card games per 1,000,000 capita |
eSports players per 100,000 capita |
Total eSports earnings per 100,000 capita ($) |
1 |
Denmark |
0.17 |
27.90 |
$667,869.10 |
2 |
Estonia |
1.51 |
15.68 |
$315,898.75 |
3 |
Sweden |
0.10 |
26.13 |
$391,699.86 |
4 |
Norway |
0.74 |
17.52 |
$153,856.38 |
5 |
Korea |
0.10 |
7.92 |
$191,225.80 |
6 |
China |
0.004 |
0.33 |
$8,683.84 |
7 |
Israel |
0.12 |
2.31 |
$39,409.70 |
8 |
Canada |
0.03 |
7.71 |
$77,101.20 |
9 |
Australia |
0.08 |
9.37 |
$69,209.95 |
10 |
Netherlands |
0.18 |
7.95 |
$58,295.09 |
When looking at data for board, mind and card games as well as eSports, Denmark ranks as the most competitive. The country currently has 1,616 eSports players, with total earnings equating to $38,684,327.57. This works out to be an average of $23,938.82 per player.
The study also looks at the nations which are the current champions in a range of board, mind and card games. The United States ranks first with 10 champions, followed by Japan and the United Kingdom with nine respectively.
Norway’s Johan Sundstein is the highest-earning eSports star
As eSports continues to have money invested into it, the opportunity to earn high sums is becoming more accessible. Not only are there just prices to win, but playing online games is now considered a profession, with stars earning up to 7 figures. But who are the rising stars in the eSport community, and how much do they really win?
Rank |
Country represented |
Full name |
eSports username |
Total earnings ($) |
1 |
Norway |
Johan Sundstein |
N0tail |
$6,969,737.80 |
2 |
Finland |
Jesse Vainikka |
JerAx |
$6,470,548.78 |
3 |
Australia |
Anathan Pham |
ana |
$6,000,441.96 |
4 |
France |
Sebastien Debs |
Ceb |
$5,559,712.41 |
5 |
Finland |
Topias Taavitsainen |
Topson |
$5,476,317.57 |
6 |
Germany |
Kuro Takhasomi |
KuroKy |
$5,198,604.15 |
7 |
Jordan |
Amer Al-Barkawi |
Miracle- |
$4,801,541.68 |
8 |
Bulgaria |
Ivan Ivanov |
MinD_ContRoL |
$4,582,616.16 |
9 |
Lebanon |
Maroun Merhej |
GH |
$4,196,910.69 |
10 |
Finland |
Lasse Urpalainen |
Matumbaman |
$3,765,369.04 |
The competition within eSports is beginning to attract large audiences all across the globe. As studies show, in 2020 there were an estimated 495 million people watching eSport at competition level – this is set to increase to 646 million in 2023. Comparatively, 1.12 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia.
With these large viewing numbers and sold-out arenas, the prize money through sponsorship attraction has grown significantly. Johan Sundstein, a competitor for Norway and professional Defense of the Ancients (DOTA 2) player, has earned a staggering $6,969,737.80 during his eSports career – the same amount as Premier League football club, Manchester City, paid their stars on average in 2020.
Chess Is The Most Desired Game To Win At
Playing games is about winning, one way or the other. Thinking about the best tactics, finding your opponents weakness or simply having a talent for the game. But which games do we want to win at most desperately? We looked at the search volume for specific ‘how to’ terms worldwide to determine gamers goals.
Rank |
Term |
Search volume |
1 |
How to win in chess |
20360 |
2 |
How to win in Monopoly |
15930 |
3 |
Cheat code for |
6210 |
4 |
How to complete |
5670 |
5 |
How to win |
5060 |
6 |
How to win in poker |
4700 |
7 |
How to win in UNO |
2830 |
8 |
How to cheat |
1110 |
9 |
How to cheat in poker |
930 |
10 |
How to cheat in monopoly |
850 |
11 |
How to win in ludo |
410 |
12 |
How to cheat in UNO |
210 |
13 |
How to win in cards |
210 |
14 |
How to cheat in cards |
90 |
15 |
How to cheat in ludo |
20 |
We all like to win, claim victory, be the best at what we do. But when it comes to competitive gaming, which are we most eager to beat our competitor(s) in?
Surprisingly, the highest-ranking game in which we all want to learn how to win is a centuries-old board game: chess. Could the recent hype around one particular Netflix show have something to do with this? Either way, it is interesting to see a non-digital game that was invented around the 7th century gain popularity once again.
The second most popular game we apparently all want to finish first in is Monopoly. This should come as no surprise. We have all seen the scenes of people quite literally flipping tables the second they lose a street or are sent to jail, so taking it to the web to find out how to become a better player could be a strategic move.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could use cheat codes in real life? Just type in ‘motherlode’ and never work another day in your life. Unfortunately, things don’t work that way, but at least they do in games. That’s right, the third most sought after term is ‘cheat code for’. Why get better at a game if you can just beat it with a few keystrokes, right?
So whether you’re from Denmark and are thus born to compete, or just want to win at Monopoly for once, it’s good to always be pushing yourself to be better at anything no matter if it’s playing a game online, offline or just in general. Game on!
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