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State of Play’s TL;DR
- A Gallup poll found that less Americans say they have gambled in the last year.
- It was a sharp decline from a survey conducted a decade earlier.
Gallup says 45% of US adults reported taking part in at least one form of gambling in the past 12 months, down from 64% in 2016.
Most major categories declined, while online gambling for money held steady at 4%.
The findings come from combined telephone surveys conducted in June and July among more than 2,200 adults. The results add a note of caution: reported participation is down even as newer products such as online gambling, fantasy sports, and prediction markets remain relatively small by reach.
Lottery and casino gambling posted the sharpest declines
Gallup found broad pullbacks across traditional gambling activities. State lottery play fell to 31% from 49% in 2016, while in-person casino gambling dropped to 14% from 26%. Office pools also declined, falling to 7% from 15%.
Sports betting was lower as well. Seven percent of adults said they bet on professional sports, down from 10% in 2016, while college sports betting slipped to 4% from 5%.
Online casino gambling for money was the exception: 4% of adults said they do it, and Gallup said it was the only category measured that did not decline over time. Other newer products remained limited in the survey, with 2% saying they had used prediction markets for non-athletic events and 4% saying they played daily fantasy sports games for money.
Public acceptance softened
Gallup reported that the share of Americans who view gambling as “morally acceptable” fell to 57% in 2026 from 67% in 2016.
On gambling harm, Gallup said 3% of all adults surveyed said they sometimes gamble more than they believe they should. Separately, 9% said gambling had caused problems within their family.
Gallup also ran a separate online survey using its probability-based panel, which produced a higher participation figure: 53% of respondents said they had gambled in the previous year. Gallup said the gap may reflect differences in how people report gambling activity depending on survey format, including what it described as a possible “lower willingness to disclose gambling activity” in telephone interviews.
Based on reporting by Vanja Mitic for World Casino News.
