WalletHub’s report is based on data that includes lottery sales, gambling machine availability, illegal gambling prevalence and problem gambling rates

WalletHub has released its new Most Gambling-Addicted States report, highlighting the jurisdictions that struggle the most with gambling harm. While some states fared fairly well, others exhibited concerning addiction rates.

It is perhaps hardly surprising that Nevada, the gambling capital of the world, scored the highest on WalletHub’s report. With a total score of 72.52, Nevada also claimed the first spot both in terms of gambling-friendliness and gambling problem & treatment.

South Dakota, meanwhile, took the second spot with a score of 66.53. The state ranked second in terms of gambling-friendliness but only ninth in terms of gambling problem & treatment.

The third spot was claimed by Montana. WalletHub gave a total score of 59.45 and put it in seventh place in terms of gambling-friendliness. The state also ranked fourth in the gambling problem & treatment category.

Louisiana came in fourth place with a total score of 57.28. According to WalletHub, the state ranked third in terms of gambling-friendliness and 22nd in terms of gambling problem & treatment rank.

Rounding up the top five, Pennsylvania took the fifth spot on WalletHub’s list, with a total score of 55.99. The state was also fifth when it came to gambling-friendliness and 16th when it came to gambling problem & treatment.

For reference, Utah came in at number 50 with a total score of 24.14. The state was the least gambling-friendly and ranked 18th in terms of gambling problem & treatment.

Other Interesting Findings

For context, WalletHub’s report is based on data that includes lottery sales, gambling machine availability, illegal gambling prevalence and problem gambling rates. In addition, it compared states across two key dimensions, namely gambling-friendliness and gambling problem & treatment.

In addition, WalletHub cited other interesting findings, saying that Nevada was a leading state in terms of illegal gambling-related arrests.

WalletHub also published information about the prevalence of casinos and gambling machines. In terms of casinos, Nevada, South Dakota and Oklahoma tied for the first spot. They were followed by North Dakota and Montana in fourth and fifth place, respectively. On the contrary, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, New Hampshire and South Carolina tied for the 43rd spot.

In terms of gaming machines per capita, four states, namely Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Montana, tied for the first spot. The fifth place, meanwhile was claimed by New Mexico. Georgia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Tennessee, on the other hand, tied for the 44th spot in this category.  

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