WalletHub: New York Surpasses Nevada in Terms of Gambling Crime

New York has surpassed Nevada in terms of gambling arrests in 2023, according to a new report by WalletHub. The famous credit score app also published its latest gambling addiction figures for the USA, highlighting the most addicted states.

New York Gambling Crime Cases Exceed Those in Nevada

While New York legalized sports betting only three years ago, it has quickly become one of America’s largest gaming markets. It now ranks first in sports betting and daily fantasy sports participation. Considering this incredible interest in such products, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Empire State also ranked first in terms of illegal gambling and gambling-related arrests.

The latest available FBI data shows that 339 people were arrested for gambling offenses in 2023 alone. This figure exceeds Nevada’s arrests for the same period (236) by over a hundred. To put things into perspective, New York took 12^th place in terms of gambling arrests prior to the COVID pandemic.

While some arrests are related to people who have stolen money for gambling, others are tied to organizers of illegal games of chance.

The most common offenses include storefront operations where seemingly normal stores and restaurants host illegal gaming hubs in their backrooms. Some operate independently, while others are related to organized crime and broader illicit operations.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo doubts that New York will ever get rid of the black market, considering its history of organized crime.

Nevada Continues to Be the Most Addicted State, WalletHub Says

WalletHub also examined which are the most addicted states, ranking all US jurisdictions, regardless of whether they have legal gambling or not. It emphasized that approximately 1-3% of US adults are problem gamblers who are unable to quit and sometimes accumulate significant losses.

Oftentimes, gambling addiction can lead to health issues, job losses and relationship strain. In rarer cases it can also push people to crimes or make them contemplate suicide.

According to WalletHub, Nevada continues to be the top state in terms of gambling addiction. This placing can be attributed to, among other things, the state’s numerous casinos and gambling traditions. Nevada also ranked first in terms of gambling friendliness and gambling problem treatment.

The second state on the list was South Dakota, which was also second in terms of gambling friendliness. Unfortunately, it came only 15^th in terms of problem gambling treatment.

Rounding up the top five were Montana, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi, which varied in terms of gambling friendliness and treatment.

New York, for context, ranked 13^th in terms of addiction. The Empire State was also 14^th in terms of gambling friendliness and 26^th in terms of gambling problem treatment.

The least addicted state was Utah, which was also the most unfriendly to the industry. Alaska took the 49^th spot and was also the 48^th in terms of gambling friendliness. The two states tied for the 12^th gambling addiction treatment spot.

Analyst Chris Lupo commented on the matter, saying that people struggling with gambling might find it helpful to live in a state where gambling is less prevalent.