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PlaySpan, a leading player in the monetization of online games, virtual worlds and social networks, has released the findings of a new consumer survey concerning how gamers buy and use its Ultimate Game Card.

While PlaySpan’s Ultimate Game Card sits alongside more traditional gift cards in the store, it appears that not many of those sold are destined to become a gift. In fact, according to PlaySpan‘s first consumer insight survey of just over 2,500 Ultimate Game Card users, 80% buy them for their own use.

“Adoption of The Ultimate Game Card is growing quickly,” said Eric Hartness, Chief Marketing Office of PlaySpan. “In fact, it is now in the top five of retail game cards.”

Buyers of the Ultimate Game Card are obviously happy with their purchase, with 80% saying as much. Repeat sales echo this sentiment with 35.8% of users saying they had already purchased four or more cards. Happy Ultimate Game Card users are helping spread the popularity by word-of-mouth with over half (51.9%) recommending it to a friend and a healthy 29% recommending it to more than ten friends.

So, who is buying them? As might be expected, many purchasers (48%) are those who are unable to get a credit card, namely those in the 14-18 age bracket. That percentage drops off as age increases – 14.6% are age 19-25, 10.5% 26-35 and 11% in the 36+ age bracket. Three-quarters of those surveyed by PlaySpan said they spent more than two hours a day playing video games or immersed in virtual worlds.

“The Ultimate Game Card customers skew younger because its primary benefit is to enable the younger demographic without credit cards to pay for premium content,” said Hartness. “However, based on their play behavior and games played, Ultimate Game Card customers are certainly core gamers.”

Playspan’s Ultimate Game Card supports over 300 multi-player games and virtual worlds and is available at over 21,000 retail stores across the U.S. and Canada, as well as other countries worldwide.