A study by WalletHub.com has found that the state most addicted to gambling is Nevada. As it is home to the gambling capital of the United States, this seems hardly surprising, but the other results may shock you.
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How The Rankings Were Determined
The research team determined the states where gambling addiction is most widespread by analysing 20 metrics that fall into two categories: Gambling Friendliness and Problem Gambling & Treatment.
Gambling Friendliness was given a points total of 70, taking into account various statistics such as:
- Casinos per capita
- Gaming machines per 1,000 residents
- iGaming revenue per capita
- Lottery sales per capita
- Presence of retail gaming
- Presence of illegal gambling
- The legality of daily fantasy sports, sports betting and horse race betting
- Search volume for gambling-related keywords, such as “lottery”, “casino”, “blackjack”, wtc
Problem Gambling and treatment were given a points total of 30, based on:
- Number of adults with gambling disorders
- Gambling counselors per capita
- Gambling Anonymous meetings per capita
- Whether or not the NCPG is associated with gambling brands in the state
- Whether there is a state-side self-exclusion statute
- Gambling-related arrests per capita
The firm used data collected from the US Census Bureau Gaming Association, National Council on Problem Gambling, the FBI, PlayUSA and more.
Full Ranking of the Most Gambling-Addicted States
Are you living a state where gambling addiction is prevalent, or are the residents of your home state less affected by gambling harm? Check out WalletHub’s full ranking:
| 1 | Nevada | 14 | Illinois | 27 | Missouri | 40 | Kentucky |
| 2 | South Dakota | 15 | Colorado | 28 | South Carolina | 41 | Connecticut |
| 3 | Montana | 16 | Minnesota | 29 | New Mexico | 42 | Florida |
| 4 | Louisiana | 17 | Delaware | 30 | North Carolina | 43 | Nebraska |
| 4 | Mississippi | 18 | Iowa | 31 | Indiana | 44 | Kansas |
| 6 | New Jersey | 19 | Rhode Island | 32 | Maryland | 45 | Wisconsin |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 20 | New York | 33 | Idaho | 46 | Maine |
| 8 | West Virginia | 21 | Tennessee | 34 | New Hampshire | 47 | Hawaii |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 22 | Michigan | 35 | Arizona | 48 | Alaska |
| 10 | Oregon | 23 | Ohio | 36 | Arkansas | 49 | Vermont |
| 11 | California | 24 | Virginia | 37 | Washington | 50 | Utah |
| 12 | Texas | 25 | Massachusetts | 38 | Georgia | ||
| 13 | North Dakota | 26 | Wyoming | 39 | Alabama |
Something that really stands out about these findings is that the prevalence of gambling addiction doesn’t necessarily correlate with the prevalence of legalized gambling. In Tennessee, there are no casinos but it ranks #21 – much, much higher than states like Georgia and Hawaii where gambling is also illegal.
It raises the point about the availability of gambling and its relationship to gambling addicition. So, what really is the cause?
Expert Opinions on Problem Gambling
“Friends and family can help people who struggle with gambling by encouraging them to address all their mental health needs and not simply “focus on the money.” Avoiding gambling is generally not sufficient to find relief from addiction since casinos or gambling games do not cause addiction but rather reveal it”.
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Bethany has been working in online gambling for over 13 years. She got her start in the industry as her first job after graduating from the Professional Writing Program at York University. Having written for many online gaming publications and worked with top casino operators, she has unique insight into the gambling market. Bethany maintains a personal interest in iGaming as she continues to play poker online as a hobby.