Gallup Survey Finds US Gambling Participation Down Sharply Since 2016

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Altay Celikkaya

Content Manager

Updated: 20/08/26

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The share of US adults reporting that they gambled during the previous year has fallen sharply over the past decade, according to new research published by Gallup on 17 August. The polling organisation found that 45% of adults participated in at least one form of gambling in 2026, compared with 64% in 2016. The findings are based on telephone interviews with more than 2,200 adults conducted across the United States in June and July. The decline comes despite wider access to regulated betting and continued revenue growth across the US gaming industry.

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Key Takeaways From Gallup’s 2026 US Gambling Survey

Overall reported participation fell by 19 percentage points between 2016 and 2026.
State lottery participation declined from 49% to 31%, while in-person casino gambling dropped from 24% to 14%.
Internet gambling was the only activity Gallup measured that did not decline over time.
A parallel online survey produced a higher overall participation estimate of 53%.
The participation decline contrasts with record revenue across the regulated US gaming market.

Lotteries and Land-Based Casinos Record the Largest Declines

State lotteries remain the most common form of gambling measured by Gallup, but their reach has narrowed considerably. Participation stood above 50% throughout much of the 1990s before falling to the high-40% range between 2003 and 2016 and then to 31% in the latest survey.

In-person casino participation followed a similar pattern. The figure peaked at 30% in 2003, remained at approximately one-quarter of adults in subsequent surveys and declined to 14% in 2026. Office pools, bingo and video poker also recorded lower participation.

Sports wagering presented a different picture. Betting on professional and college sports has remained broadly stable since 2003, while internet gambling, reported by 4% of telephone respondents, was the only measured category that did not show a long-term decline. Gallup said the growth of digital gambling could partly explain reduced visits to physical casinos, although its data does not establish a direct causal relationship.

Survey Method Changes the Participation Estimate

Gallup’s parallel web survey found that 53% of US adults had gambled during the previous year, eight percentage points above the telephone estimate. The difference was also visible in sports betting: 21% of online respondents reported some form of sports wagering, compared with 15% of telephone respondents.

Gallup said respondents may be less willing to disclose gambling activity to a telephone interviewer. That possibility is particularly relevant as the proportion of Americans who consider gambling morally acceptable has fallen from 67% in 2016 to 57% in 2026.

Demographic patterns were nevertheless similar across both survey methods. Men reported higher participation than women, while adults with household incomes of at least $100,000 were more likely to gamble than middle- and lower-income groups.

Record Gaming Revenue Creates a Market-Level Contrast

The decline in self-reported participation sits alongside strong financial performance in the regulated sector. A recent analysis of the AGA State of the States 2026 findings showed that traditional and digital gaming verticals continued to expand during 2025.

The American Gaming Association reported record commercial gaming revenue of $78.72 billion, representing annual growth of 9.2%. iGaming revenue increased by 27%, while sports betting revenue rose by 22.6%.

Gallup noted that higher industry revenue alongside lower participation could indicate that spending is concentrated among a smaller pool of more frequent players. However, the organisation said the apparent divide could also reflect changing product prices, the shift from informal gambling to regulated channels or underreporting among survey respondents.

Player Protection Remains Part of the US Policy Debate

Gallup found that 3% of adults interviewed by telephone believed they sometimes gambled more than they should. The figure rose to 6% in the web survey. Meanwhile, 9% of telephone respondents said gambling had caused problems within their family.

The findings follow separate US research into gambling participation before the age of 21, which found that 65% of adults recalled gambling before reaching the legal age. The official NCPG survey results also showed that only 15% had ever been asked about their gambling behaviour by a primary healthcare provider.

Federal lawmakers have responded to wider concerns over gambling harm by introducing the bipartisan POINTS Act. According to the official congressional announcement, the proposed legislation would redirect part of the existing federal sports wagering excise tax towards prevention, treatment and recovery services without creating a new tax.