Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Gambling in the United States - statistics & facts
With Las Vegas or Atlantic City alone, the United States is home to some of the most renowned gambling locations in the world. Accordingly, gambling is undeniably woven into the cultural iconography of the United States. The gambling industry is also a major cog in the U.S. economy, with the national commercial gross gaming revenue (GGR) reaching 71.92 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The majority of this revenue is generated by casino slots and table games, which totaled around three-quarters of total GGR in 2024. That year, Nevada’s GGR outstripped every other U.S. state, totaling over 15 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, Pennsylvania generated the second-highest amount of GGR, with 6.88 billion U.S. dollars.
Where is gambling legal in the U.S.?
Under federal law, gambling is legal in the U.S., however, each state can define its own regulations as it sees fit. Consequently, it is easy to lose track of what distinctions make certain forms of gambling illegal in one state but perfectly acceptable in another. For example, following the federal legislature's legalization of sports betting in 2018, 38 states had decided to follow suit as of July 2025. However, six of these states decided to only allow in-person sports betting.
As is also often the case, there have been conflicts in interpreting legislation at state and federal levels. One instance of this is daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the state of Nevada, with the state’s Gaming Control Board insisting that DFS are a form of gambling and therefore require a license. However, leading DFS platforms have argued that under the 2006 Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act, fantasy sports are recognized as a game of skill rather than luck and therefore do not need to pay for a gaming license. As of September 2025, this conflict had yet to have been resolved, creating the bizarre situation of popular apps such as DraftKings or FanDuel not being accessible in the U.S. capital of gambling, Las Vegas.
How many people gamble in the U.S.?
Recent years have seen an uptake in gambling in the U.S., with 57 percent of U.S. adults saying they participated in gambling in 2025. In comparison, 43 percent took part in 2019. Concurrently, attitudes towards gambling have become increasingly permissive in the U.S., with 62 percent of adults saying they found it acceptable in 2025. Six years previously, this figure had stood at 50 percent. When it comes to the most popular forms of gambling in the U.S., playing the lottery has been the consistent favorite, with 37 percent of the U.S. population having taken part in 2023.
Looking to the future, there is an expectation that the U.S. gambling industry will grow steadily over the coming years. This is especially true for online gambling, whose market size was forecast to grow from around 25 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 to 40 billion U.S. dollars by 2029. However, in-person gambling is not expected to disappear any time soon, especially in locations such as Las Vegas, where visiting casinos is part of the holistic touristic experience.
