Nevada Is The USA’s Most Gambling Addicted State

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Thursday, May 19th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

Gambling can be a fun past time, but for some people it develops into a habit that is difficult to stop. In fact, addiction is a very real mental health problem for at least 2% of gamblers, and scientists say that people become addicted to gambling in much the same way as they do for drugs and alcohol. Winning once or twice produces a positive feeling that problem gamblers then continuously chase, even when they spend so much that it causes them financial hardship.

Gambling Addiction by the Numbers

It’s estimated that gambling addiction causes Americans to spend around $6 billion every year, and experts predict the financial cost of gambling will rise as more states license casinos. The average man with a gambling addiction will typically rack up $55,000 to $90,000 of debt due to losses, while women who suffer from gambling addiction tend to amass an average debt of $15,000.

The Wallet Hub Study

It’s clear that gambling addiction can have a devastating effect on the lives of addicts and their families. What’s not as clear, though, is just how many people suffer from gambling addiction. Often, gambling addicts suffer in silence and don’t seek treatment, making it difficult to know just how many there are and where they live.

Recently, Wallet Hub attempted to determine which states were the most addicted by examining 13 metrics related to gambling friendliness and gambling problems, namely:

– The number of casinos per 100,000 people in the state
– The number of gaming machines per 100,000 people in the state
– iGaming revenues per capita
– Limited stakes gaming revenues per capita
– Lottery sales per capita
– Illegal gambling activity
– Legality of horse racing, sports gambling and daily fantasy sports betting
– The number of people with reported gambling addiction in the state
– Whether or not the state was affiliated with the National Council on Problem Gambling
– The number of gambling-addiction programs in the state
– The number of arrests related to gambling per 100,000 people in the state

Comparing Gambling Addiction State by State

Using their 13 metrics and a complicated scoring system, Wallet Hub concluded that Nevada, the second most gambling friendly state in the US, is also the state most addicted to gambling. Similarly, South Dakota ranked as the USA’s most gambling friendly state, and ranked second in terms of overall gambling addiction. Mississippi, Montana and Oklahoma came in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list.

Not surprisingly, Utah, which bans all forms of gambling, was bottom (50th) on the list, but less predictably was the finding that Hawaii, another state that prohibits gambling, ranked 27th for addiction.

Criticism

While information from the study suggests that gambling friendliness seems to make a state’s population more likely to become addicted to gambling, some are criticizing the findings, saying that the data doesn’t take into consideration the large amount of gambling that is done by tourists who live outside of the states. In addition, Boston College professor of statistics, economics and business policy, Richard McGowan, said that Gonzalez’ study did not take sufficient account of the millennial generation that tends to be less interested in casinos and the games that they currently offer. As McGowan explains:

“They certainly don’t want to sit there and play in front of slot machines. That doesn’t do anything for them.”

As a result, casinos are now trying desperately to appeal to this demographic by developing skill-based slot machines which they believe more closely match the wants of younger gamblers. Nevada subsequently passed Senate Bill 9, which allows slot machines to feature skill-based elements to its games, with both the Senate and the Assembly passing the bill. Nevertheless, other analysts believe casinos are still missing the point, including Listener Taylor, who commented on the FHBM Facebook group that:

“..they’re confusing skilled based games vs slot machines with free games on phones/consoles vs slot machines that cost actual money. Why would millennials put a hundred dollar bill into slot machines that last 10 minutes 80% of the time to win some money 20% of the time when they can have Xbox Live subscription and gamefly subscriptions for $100 a year?”

Consequently, casinos have had to increasingly adapt to changing circumstances over the past few years by extending their venues’ non-gaming services and products, including food and beverage offerings, as well as live shows and entertainments.