GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Each March, the NCAA men's basketball tournament captures the attention of sports fans around the country. One outgrowth of the widespread interest in the tournament has been the ubiquitous office betting pool, as workers try to win money by testing their luck and knowledge against the often-unpredictable outcomes of NCAA tournament games. Gallup data show that relatively few Americans admit to participating in such office pools, but gambling in a variety of forms is widespread in the United States. Two in three Americans say they have participated in some form of gambling activity in the last 12 months, with state lotteries being the most common. While most forms of gambling appear to be less common than 15 years ago, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of Americans who say they visit casinos. Men are significantly more likely than women to gamble.
Gambling Activity in the United States
The annual Gallup Lifestyle Poll, conducted Dec. 11-14, 2003, asked Americans if they participated in each of 11 forms of gambling in the last year. By far, the most common form of gambling in the United States is state lotteries. About half of Americans, 49%, say they have bought a lottery ticket in the past 12 months. Three in 10 Americans say they have visited a casino in the past 12 months, making it the second-most common form of gambling. Fourteen percent of Americans say they have played a video poker machine, 5% have played bingo for money, and 1% have gambled on the Internet.
Fifteen percent of Americans say they have participated in an office pool connected with a sporting event such as the NCAA Tournament, Super Bowl, or World Series. Americans are less likely to say they placed bets on professional (10%) or college (6%) sports events, horse races (4%), or boxing matches (2%). Participation in office gambling pools is higher among Americans who are employed full-time (23%) than among the general public.
| Participation in Forms of Gambling Over the Past 12 Months % “Yes” |
 |
| Dec. 11-14, 2003 |
Gallup data suggest Americans are less likely to participate in most forms of gambling than they were in 1989, when most of these items were first asked. The primary exception is visiting casinos, which has increased from 20% in 1989 to 30% today. Since 1989, casinos have been built in several local communities as a way to raise revenue. The incidence of Americans who have played video poker has also increased, but only slightly, from 11% in 1992 to 14% today (it rose as high as 20% in 1999). The largest decline has come in betting on professional sports events, which has declined from 22% to 10% today.
|
Percentage of Americans Participating in Various Forms of Gambling |
|||
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
2003 Dec 11-14 |
Change |
|
|
% |
% |
(in percentage points) |
|
|
Visited casino |
20 |
30 |
+10 |
|
Played video poker |
11‡ |
14 |
+3 |
|
Bet on horse race |
9† |
4 |
-5 |
|
Bought state lottery ticket |
54 |
49 |
-5 |
|
Bet on boxing match |
8 |
2 |
-6 |
|
Participated in office pool |
22‡ |
15 |
-7 |
|
Played bingo for money |
13 |
5 |
-8 |
|
Bet on college sports |
14 |
6 |
-8 |
|
Bet on pro sports |
22 |
10 |
-12 |
|
†Feb 15-18, 1990 |
|||
|
‡Nov 20-22, 1992 |
|||
Prevalence of Gambling in the United States
By taking into account the public's answers to the 11 different gambling activities, Gallup estimates that 66% of Americans gambled in at least one of these ways in the past 12 months. In the 1989 survey, 70% had done so.
The current data show that men (75%) are much more likely than women (57%) to say they have gambled in the last 12 months. There are also considerable differences by frequency of church attendance. Weekly churchgoers are much less likely to have gambled (52%) than are those who attend nearly weekly or monthly (69%) or those who seldom or never attend religious services (74%). Contrary to what some might expect, those living in lower income households are actually less likely to have participated in any form of gambling than are those living in higher income households.
|
Percentage of Americans Gambling in Last 12
Months |
|
|
Gender |
|
|
Men |
75% |
|
Women |
57% |
|
Age |
|
|
18-29 |
63% |
|
30-49 |
68% |
|
50-64 |
69% |
|
65 and older |
61% |
|
Race |
|
|
White |
65% |
|
Nonwhite |
69% |
|
Region |
|
|
East |
65% |
|
Midwest |
72% |
|
South |
63% |
|
West |
66% |
|
Community |
|
|
Urban |
69% |
|
Suburban |
67% |
|
Rural |
57% |
|
Education |
|
|
High school or less |
66% |
|
Some college |
67% |
|
Four-year college grad |
71% |
|
Post-graduate |
58% |
|
Income |
|
|
Less than $30,000 |
58% |
|
$30,000-less than $50,000 |
66% |
|
$50,000-less than $75,000 |
73% |
|
$75,000 and above |
70% |
|
Church Attendance |
|
|
Weekly |
52% |
|
Nearly weekly/monthly |
69% |
|
Seldom/Never |
74% |
|
Party Identification |
|
|
Democrat |
68% |
|
Independent |
69% |
|
Republican |
63% |
|
Ideology |
|
|
Liberal |
65% |
|
Moderate |
70% |
|
Conservative |
63% |
Gambling Problems
Despite the fact that gambling is widespread in the United States, most Americans do not view it as a problem for themselves. Only 6% say they sometimes gamble more than they should. This percentage is consistent across demographic subgroups. Among those who have participated in one or more of the specific gambling activities tested in the poll, 8% say they gamble more than they should.
Similarly, just 6% of Americans say gambling has been a source of problems for their families. Again, these do not differ appreciably by demographic subgroups, with the possible exception of age. Twelve percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say gambling has been a problem for someone in their family, compared with just 4% of those aged 50 and older.
To put these numbers in some context, 24% of Americans said they sometimes drank more alcoholic beverages than they should, and 31% of Americans said alcohol had been a source of problems for their families, according to a July 2003 Gallup Poll.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,011 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 11-14, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95%confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
28. Please tell me whether or not you have done any of the following things in the past 12 months. First, how about [ITEMS READ IN ORDER]?
A. Played bingo for money
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
||
|
% |
% |
% |
||
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
5 |
95 |
-- |
|
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
11 |
89 |
-- |
|
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
9 |
91 |
-- |
|
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
9 |
91 |
-- |
|
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
13 |
87 |
-- |
|
|
1963 Jan 11-16 ^ † |
16 |
84 |
-- |
|
|
1950 May 4-9 ^ |
11 |
89 |
-- |
|
|
^ |
WORDING: Play bingo |
|||
|
† |
WORDING: During the past 12 months, did you, yourself, happen to do any of these? |
|||
B. Visited a casino
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
30 |
70 |
* |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
27 |
73 |
* |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
21 |
79 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
20 |
80 |
-- |
C. Bet on a horse race
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
4 |
96 |
* |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
6 |
94 |
* |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
12 |
88 |
-- |
|
1990 Feb 15-18 |
9 |
91 |
* |
D. Bought a state lottery ticket
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
49 |
51 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
57 |
43 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
57 |
43 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
56 |
44 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
54 |
46 |
-- |
E. Bet on a professional sports event such as baseball, basketball, or football
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
10 |
90 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
13 |
87 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
10 |
90 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
12 |
88 |
-- |
|
1990 Feb 15-18 |
21 |
79 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
22 |
78 |
-- |
F. Bet on a college sports event such as basketball or football
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
6 |
94 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
9 |
91 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
7 |
93 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
6 |
94 |
-- |
|
1990 Feb 15-18 |
11 |
89 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
14 |
86 |
-- |
G. Bet on a boxing match
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
2 |
98 |
* |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
3 |
97 |
* |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
6 |
94 |
-- |
|
1990 Feb 15-18 |
5 |
95 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
8 |
92 |
-- |
H. Participated in an office pool on the World Series, Superbowl or other game
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
15 |
85 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
25 |
75 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
23 |
77 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
22 |
78 |
-- |
I. Gambled for money on the Internet
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
1 |
99 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
* |
100 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
1 |
99 |
-- |
J. Played a video poker machine
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
14 |
86 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
20 |
80 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
17 |
83 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-221 |
11 |
89 |
-- |
K. Done any other kind of gambling not mentioned here
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
13 |
87 |
* |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
10 |
90 |
* |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
28-1. Have you ever participated in any form of LEGAL gambling?
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
46% |
54 |
* |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
30. Do you sometimes gamble more than you think you should?
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
6% |
94 |
* |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
Long-Term Trend
BASED ON 499 ADULTS WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN LEGAL GAMBLING
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
10 |
90 |
-- |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
11 |
88 |
1 |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
7 |
93 |
* |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
9 |
91 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
10 |
90 |
-- |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
31. Has gambling ever been a source of problems within your family?
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
6 |
94 |
* |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
9 |
91 |
* |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
5 |
95 |
* |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
5 |
94 |
1 |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
4 |
96 |
* |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
