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The ideal vacation can mean one thing to one person but something entirely different to another. Some prefer a beach trip, while others like to stay active and hike. Meanwhile, some use their time off to try their luck at the casinos and hopefully go home richer than when they started.
In a new survey of more than 1,000 Americans, we asked their opinions about casinos. We found that many Americans have traveled hundreds of miles to go to one. Many have even made a trip out of visiting one, but a lot said they would go to a casino even more if it was closer to home.
United States of casinos
More than four in five (84%) Americans have been to a casino, and three out of every five have actually made a trip or vacation out of going to one! More than half (52%) have gone to a casino more than six times. In fact, nearly one in five (17%) have been more than 30 times in their life!
On average, Americans gamble about $682 every year. That’s on top of the cost it takes to get to a casino. An impressive 2/3 have traveled to another state to go to one. In fact, Americans actually travel an average of 335 miles to go to a casino. (Vegas trip, anyone?)
Nearly one in four (23%) wish they lived closer to a casino, and half would go more often if they lived closer to one.
Commercial and tribal casinos by state
The state with the most casinos is unsurprisingly Nevada. The home to Sin City has 217 commercial and tribal casinos. It’s followed by Oklahoma which has 138 and California with 82.
Despite being the second most populous state in the U.S., Texas only has two casinos. Florida has 15 and New York has 31.
There are no casinos at all in nine states! Gambling is banned entirely in Utah and Hawaii. In South Carolina, Georgia, and Vermont the only types of gambling allowed are the lottery, raffles, and bingo. New Hampshire and Tennessee allow other kinds of gambling such as the lottery and mobile sports betting but don’t allow casinos. In Kentucky, there is limited gambling. Betting on horse races and the lottery are allowed, however, casinos are prohibited. In Virginia, casinos are legal, but there is currently just one temporary facility open.
Ready, set, bet!
Nearly one in three people (27%) bet online but others have actually left a state physically to gamble. A full 20% admitted they have crossed state lines to place a bet.
The most common sport Americans bet on is professional football. More than seven in 10 (71%) bet on the NFL followed by the NBA (63%), MLB (34%), college football (32%), and college basketball (30%). When betting on sports, 86% prefer to bet on the outcome of the game while just 14% bet on players. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) bet with odds, while almost one in three (32%) bet against odds.
Our survey found a growing interest in sportsbooks. Nearly two in five (38%) are interested in sportsbooks and more than half (58%) said they would be willing to travel more than 20 miles to go to one. Nearly four in five (76%) would like to see more sportsbooks in their area.
Whether you love to bet on sports, or just watch them, the future of sportsbooks and casinos is rapidly changing. It appears many Americans would love to visit casinos more if they had more options closer to home. With many cities, like Chicago, in the process of building new casinos, we will see what the future holds.
Methodology
In October 2022, we surveyed 1,003 Americans to get their feedback about casinos and betting habits. Survey respondents ranged in age from 18 to 84 with an average age of 39. 50% were male, 48% female, 1% nonbinary, and 1% transgender.
Information on current gambling laws and tribal and commercial casinos by state was gathered from the American Gaming Association.
For media inquiries, please contact media@digitalthirdcoast.net.
Fair use
When using this data and research, please attribute by linking to this study and citing playusa.com
