Gambling exists in every state, even Hawaii and Utah, where gambling is prohibited by law. But which state likes to roll the dice the most? WalletHub recently did a study and has determined the Most Gambling-Addicted States in America.
The study does take into account the difference between a recreational or social gambler with someone who is mentally unable to quit. Gambling disorder, as it’s known, affects about 1-3 percent of all U.S. adults.
If you bet your paycheck that Nevada comes out on top, you should: 1. Pat yourself on the back. 2. Reconsider how much money you just bet on a meaningless proposition.
Here are the Top 10 Most Gambling-Addicted States, according to WalletHub.
- Nevada
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Louisiana (tie)
- Mississippi (tie)
- New Jersey
- Oklahoma
- West Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- Oregon
In order to determine where gambling addiction is most prevalent in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Gambling-Friendliness” and “Gambling Problem & Treatment.” Relevant metrics included casinos per capita, gaming machines per thousand residents, lottery sales per capita and illegal gambling operations.
Because we know you’re super-curious, Florida came in ranked No. 42. Utah was indeed 50th on the list. Florida wasn’t ranked among the Top 5 in any of the key metrics but was ranked among the five lowest-ranked states when it comes to the percentage of adults with gambling disorders.
Some forms of gambling are legal in Florida including:
- Parimutuel wagering on live and intertrack horse and jai-alai activities at licensed racetracks and jai-alai frontons;
- Casino gambling, including slots and table games, on certain Indian tribal lands;
- The Florida lottery games;
- Poker and dominoes played for money, but only in a licensed cardrooms;
- Penny-ante games including poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, and mah-jongg may be played outside a cardroom only if the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10 in value;
- Slot machine gaming at one of the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities located in Miami-Dade or Broward Counties;
- Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings for chance, if they comply with state law.
Consult the official Florida gaming website for gambling for more specific information.
WalletHub is a personal finance company that offers free credit checks and personal finance tools.
