NCPG Suggests Americans Gamble Less, More Responsibly

The National Council on Problem Gambling has released new research into gambling behavior that may suggest that risky gambling is down over the past several years, and aligned with numbers from 2018, while more Americans have access to regulated gambling products, but fewer seem to be betting in the first place.

NCPG Sees Decrease in Number of Problem Gamblers

The National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences 3.0 targets specifically assessed data from April 2024 and compares it against the first such survey conducted back in 2018, the time when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned.

The NPCG ran both surveys based on a four-indicator checklist that helped the organization understand how many people were experiencing gambling-related harm. In 2018, at least 7% of US adults were experiencing at least one of those markers of gambling-related harm.

Fast forward to 2021, there was a surge in gambling-related harm markers, with 11% of US adults supposedly being distressed because of gambling. This, however, was not a trend, it appears, based on the latest numbers for 2024, with the number of US adults to have experienced gambling-related harm declining to 8%.

Even with 38 states that now regulate gambling, the 2024 levels are said to be nearly the same as those in 2018. What this means is that the pandemic lockdown may have driven up gambling habits significantly, but following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, people have stopped gambling.

Mass Legalization Supposedly Doesn’t Significantly Increase the Number of Gamblers

However, 20 million people in the United States may suffer from a form of problem gambling, with only 39% of those thinking that gambling-related harm is a serious issue. The NCPG wrote:

“A majority of Americans continue to attribute gambling problems to a lack of willpower or moral weakness. There is a critical need for education about the realities of gambling and how to lower its risks for those who choose to gamble, particularly for high-risk groups, including young adults, males, online gamblers, and sports bettors.

Interestingly, despite the legalization of so many states that now offer gambling locally, the number of gamblers in the United States sits at 23% of the adult population, down from 26% in 2021, and not too far from the 20% posted in 2018.