Gallup survey finds decline in US gambling participation
Online gambling was one of the few categories to record an increase compared with 2016.
US.- US adults are gambling less frequently, according to a new Gallup survey, with 45 per cent of respondents saying they had gambled. The figure is down from 64 per cent in 2016, the reference point used by the survey, which interviewed 2,201 adults and has a 3 per cent margin of error.
Lottery participation recorded one of the largest declines, with 31 per cent of respondents saying they had purchased a ticket compared with 49 per cent in 2016. Casino gaming also fell, as 14 per cent said they had visited a casino gaming floor, down from 26 per cent a year earlier.
Sports betting participation has remained relatively stable, although it is also below its 2016 level. Around 7 per cent of respondents said they had bet on sports, compared with 10 per cent in 2016, despite the significant expansion of sports betting availability across the US. Men were more likely than women to report gambling, with participation rates of 49 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.
Internet gambling was one of the few categories to increase, rising to 4 per cent from 3 per cent in 2016. Horse racing betting moved in the opposite direction, falling from 6 per cent of respondents in 2016 to just 2 per cent in 2026.
Participation in Office pools for events including the World Series and Super Bowl also declined, dropping from 15 per cent to 7 per cent. Gallup suggested that the availability of alternative entertainment, including video games and on-demand streaming, could be contributing to the decline in traditional gambling participation.
The reduction in in-person casino gambling could partly reflect the growth of online gambling, although Gallup noted that the differences between the categories are too large to fully explain the decline in land-based participation. The survey also examined demographic and economic factors associated with gambling behaviour.
Upper-income Americans were the most likely group to report gambling, with 54 per cent of those from households earning US$ 100,000 or more annually participating. Young women aged 18 to 49 were the least likely, with 35 per cent reporting that they had gambled, compared with participation rates of 51 per cent among older men and 47 per cent among younger men.
