Fewer US adults report gambling than they did a decade ago, with participation in most measured activities falling since 2016. A recent national survey found that 45% of adults said they had gambled during the previous 12 months, compared with 64% in 2016. Comparable figures stood at 66% in 2003 and 63% in 2007.
The decline covers several established forms of gambling. State lottery participation recorded the largest fall, dropping from 49% in 2016 to 31% in 2026. In-person casino gambling declined from 26% to 14%, while participation in office pools fell from 15% to 7%.
The survey combined June and July telephone interviews with more than 2,200 US adults.
Lottery And Casino Participation Show Sharp Falls
Several other activities also recorded lower participation. Video poker declined from 9% to 5%, while horse racing fell from 6% to 2%. Bingo for money dropped from 6% to 3%, and betting on professional sports moved from 10% to 7%.
College sports betting showed a smaller change, slipping from 5% to 4%. Boxing bets declined from 3% to 2%, while other forms of gambling fell from 9% to 4%.
Internet gambling was the only activity measured that increased. The share of adults who said they had gambled for money online rose from 3% in 2016 to 4% in 2026. Fantasy sports and online prediction-market betting appeared in the newer survey measures and therefore have no comparable 2016 figures.
The fall in casino participation may coincide with the growth of online gambling, although the survey does not establish a direct cause. Changes in working patterns may also have affected office pool participation, which has fallen from 15% in the early 2000s to 7%.
Gambling Rates Differ Across Demographic Groups
Participation varies by income, gender and age. Among households earning at least $100,000 annually, 54% said they had gambled during the past year. The figure was 45% among middle-income adults and 40% among those with incomes below $50,000.
Men reported higher participation than women, at 49% compared with 40%. Adults aged 50 and older recorded a 50% rate, compared with 41% among those under 50. Younger women had the lowest rate among the age and gender groups, at 35%.
The survey also found a change in attitudes toward gambling. The proportion of Americans describing gambling as “morally acceptable” fell from 67% in 2016 to 57% earlier in 2026.
Survey Method Affects Reported Gambling Levels
A separate web survey produced higher participation figures than the telephone research. It found that 53% of adults had gambled in some form during the previous year, compared with 45% in the phone survey.
The web results also showed higher participation among men, women, income groups and age groups. Sports gambling reached 21% in the web survey, close to a 22% figure reported in another recent web study, while the comparable telephone estimate stood at 15%.
The difference may reflect greater willingness to disclose gambling activity through an online questionnaire.
Reports of gambling-related problems remained relatively limited. In the telephone survey, 3% of adults said they “sometimes gamble more than [they] think [they] should,” while 9% said gambling had caused problems in their family.
Source:
“Fewer U.S. Adults Say They Gamble”, news.gallup.com, August 17, 2026
The post US Gambling Participation Falls to 45% in 2026 first appeared on RealMoneyAction.com.