Americans are gambling less often than they did a decade ago, according to Gallup, with some of the biggest declines showing up in lotteries, casinos and workplace pools.
Across Gallup telephone polls conducted in June and July, 45% of U.S. adults said they had participated in at least one type of gambling during the previous year. A decade earlier, that figure was 64%, roughly matching results from 2003 and 2007. More than 2,200 adults took part in the latest telephone surveys.
Lottery tickets still lead Gallup’s list of gambling activities, though fewer people are buying them. From 1989 through 1999, a majority of Americans reported purchasing state lottery tickets. Participation later slipped into the upper-40% range and has now dropped to 31%.
Casino gambling has moved in the same direction. While 20% of adults reported visiting casinos to gamble in 1989, the share climbed to 30% in 2003 before falling to 14% today.
Internet gambling stands apart from that broader retreat. Gallup found 4% currently gamble for money online, the only measured category that has avoided a decline over time.
Workplace pools have fallen from 15% in the early 2000s to 7%, while video poker participation has tumbled from a 20% high in 1999 to 5%. Sports betting has changed relatively little since 2003, although today’s participation remains below levels Gallup measured during the late 1980s and 1990s.
Survey shows overall gambling falls for Americans while online sports betting gains ground
Separate research points to strong growth in digital sports wagering. An online Siena Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University survey released in April found 27% of Americans had an active sportsbook account, up from 22% in 2025 and 19% in 2024. Among men ages 18 to 49, 52% reported having an account.
The survey, covering 3,084 U.S. residents, found 22% of Americans currently wager on sports. It also identified growing concerns: 60% of bettors reported chasing losses, while 63% said they had wagered at least $100 in a single day.
A separate 2025 TaxAct survey of 750 adults ages 18 to 64 found widespread interest in sports betting but limited understanding of taxes. Only 18% knew all gambling winnings must be reported to the IRS.
Gallup, meanwhile, found declines across every major demographic group compared with 2016. Participation reached 54% among households earning at least $100,000, versus 45% for those earning $50,000 to $99,999 and 40% below $50,000.
Men reported gambling more frequently than women, 49% to 40%. Adults 50 and older registered a 50% rate, compared with 41% among younger adults.
Survey method also mattered. Gallup’s parallel online poll measured overall participation at 53%, while telephone polling found 45%. For sports gambling, those figures were 21% online and 15% by telephone.
On potential harms, 3% of all adults and 7% of gamblers told Gallup they “sometimes gamble more than [they] think [they] should.” Another 9% said gambling had created family problems.
Attitudes are shifting too. Gallup found 57% of Americans now consider gambling morally acceptable, down from 67% in 2016.
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The post Fewer Americans gambling as lotteries and casinos lose participants, survey says appeared first on ReadWrite.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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