Our analysts looked at data from across the United States to find out which states really love to gamble. By comparing casino revenue, lottery sales, and how much the average person spends on gambling each month, we ranked where gambling plays the biggest role in everyday life.
Key Highlights
- Nevada (#1) ranks as America’s biggest gambling state, with an average spend of $396 per person on gambling, despite having no state lottery.
- New York (#8) spends the most on lottery tickets out of all US states, with over $9 billion in annual revenue.
- Pennsylvania (#9) made history in 2021 as the first state to exceed $1 billion in gambling tax revenue, now producing $655.7 million monthly in casino income.
America’s Top Gambling States
From Vegas high rollers to Massachusetts lottery lovers, Americans love a gamble in all its forms. Our data reveals where people are spending the most, which states are seeing new casino and where small bets add up to massive lottery wins. The results show some clear winners and a few surprises, from states built on casino culture to others just starting to place their bets.
#10 - Virginia: Index Score 19/100 🎰
Virginia’s gambling scene is steadily expanding, led by major venues such as the Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, the state’s first permanent casino which opened in January 2023. Once a state with no gambling footprint, it has quickly embraced the industry, with residents showing a growing enthusiasm for both casinos and the lottery.
- Number of Casinos: 13
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $97.7 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita:
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $4.4 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $42.50
#9 - Pennsylvania: Index Score 19/100 🎰
Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s most established gambling states. In 2021, it made history as the first state to generate over $1 billion in gambling tax revenue, fueled by the rise of online play during the pandemic. Today, gambling is deeply embedded in the state’s entertainment culture.
- Number of Casinos: 17
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $655.7 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $50
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $4.6 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $29.50
#8 New York: Index Score 20/100 🎰
With the biggest lottery spend in any state and 34 licensed casinos, New York consistently ranks among the highest in total gambling revenue. Yet, recent NBA gambling investigations hint at underground and unregulated betting still thriving in the state. If the city’s shadow bets were on the books, New York’s gambling take might look a whole lot richer.
- Number of Casinos: 34
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $464.5 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $23
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $9.0 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $37.08
#7 New Jersey: Index Score 21/100 🎰
New Jersey has one of the most developed and least restrictive legal gambling markets in the US. Residents here have long had a soft spot for a wager. From the buzz of Atlantic City’s casinos to the ease of placing a bet online, gambling has become part of everyday culture in the Garden State.
- Number of Casinos: 9
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $642.2 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $69
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $3.5 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $31.50
#6 Delaware: Index Score - 21 / 100 🎰
Delaware may be one of the smallest states in the U.S., but it was among the first to embrace legal online gambling. Residents here enjoy both the thrill of the tables and the steady pull of the lottery, making Delaware’s gambling scene lively year-round.
- Number of Casinos: 3
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $57.0 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $58
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $413.5 million
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $34.83
#5 Michigan: Index Score - 22 100🎰
From Detroit’s casino floors to small-town lottery counters, residents in Michigan love to test their luck. With billions flowing through the state’s lottery each year, Michigan stands out as one of the Midwest’s most active gambling markets.
- Number of Casinos: 26
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $419.5 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $42
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $4.47 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $36.92
#4 West Virginia - Index Score - 23 / 100🎰
Gambling has been part of West Virginia’s culture since the 1930s, when sports betting first became legal. Residents have embraced the gamble ever since. From casino nightlife to everyday lottery play, Michiganders keep the odds alive and the wagers flowing.
- Number of Casinos: 5
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $97.7 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $54
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $740.8 million
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $34.42
#3 Rhode Island: Index Score - 26 / 100🎰
For a state that’s small enough to drive across in an hour, Rhode Island sure knows how to make a big bet. Many residents regularly try their luck in the states two casinos. Lottery sales alone bring in hundreds of millions each year, showing that Rhode Islanders take their gaming just as seriously as anyone else.
- Number of Casinos: 2
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $65.1 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $59
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $599.6 million
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $45.50
#2 Massachusetts: Index Score - 33/100🎰
Massachusetts consistently ranks among the top gambling states in the country, led by an unmatched appetite for lottery play. With just three casinos, the real action happens at the ticket counter, where residents spend more on lottery games per person than almost anywhere else in the U.S.
- Number of Casinos: 3
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $162.1 million
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $23
- Annual Lottery Revenue: $6.1 billion
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: $72.58
#1 Nevada: Index Score - 70/100 🎰
Gambling is part of Nevada’s identity, known around the world as the home of high stakes. With 229 casinos and more than $1.2 billion in gambling revenue each month, the state stands unmatched as America’s gaming capital. Unlike most of the country, Nevada has no state lottery. The action lives entirely on the casino floor, where taking a chance is more than entertainment, it’s a way of life.
- Number of Casinos: 229
- Monthly Gambling Revenue: $1.23 billion
- Monthly Gambling Spend per Capita: $396
- Annual Lottery Revenue: —
- Annual Lottery Spend per Capita: —
Are America’s Biggest Gamblers Falling Behind Online?
Online gambling is growing fast across the country, with Americans spending around $22.19 billion on online gaming last year. Even so, some of America’s biggest gamblers are still behind the curve. States such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Delaware, and Rhode Island have fully regulated online casinos, while others, including New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, have yet to modernize their online gambling laws. For now, much of their gambling still happens in person, even as the rest of the nation moves online.
Methodology
To find out which parts of the country truly deserve the title of America’s biggest gamblers, our analysts gathered publicly available data across four key gambling indicators. Each metric was normalized and weighted to create a balanced composite index, producing a final score out of 100.
The percentage of monthly average income spent on gambling made up 35% of the overall score, lottery spend per capita accounted for 30%, the total number of casinos represented 15%, and gambling revenue per capita contributed the remaining 20%.
Factors and Sources:
- Gambling Revenue per Capita – Calculated by dividing total state gambling revenue (sourced from the American Gaming Association) by the state’s population to identify the average gambling spend per person.
- Lottery Spend per Capita – Based on total annual lottery revenue from Statista and The Motley Fool datasets, divided by population to find average annual lottery spend per person.
- Total Number of Casinos – Includes both commercial and tribal casinos, with counts sourced from the American Gaming Association.
- % of Income Spent on Gambling – Calculated by comparing each state’s monthly per capita gambling spend to the state’s average monthly income, derived from U.S. Census Bureau income data.
| Rank | State | Gambling Revenue Per Capita | Annual Lottery Spend Per Capita | Number of Casinos | % Of Income Spent On Gambling | Index Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Nevada | 396 | 0 | 229 | 6.215% | 70 |
| #2 | Massachusetts | 23 | 871 | 3 | 0.277% | 33 |
| #3 | Rhode Island | 59 | 546 | 2 | 0.838% | 26 |
| #4 | West Virginia | 54 | 413 | 5 | 0.722% | 23 |
| #5 | Michigan | 42 | 443 | 26 | 1.168% | 22 |
| #6 | Delaware | 58 | 418 | 3 | 0.831% | 21 |
| #7 | New Jersey | 69 | 378 | 9 | 0.336% | 21 |
| #8 | New York | 23 | 445 | 34 | 0.841% | 20 |
| #9 | Pennsylvania | 50 | 354 | 17 | 1.611% | 19 |
| #10 | Virginia | 17 | 510 | 3 | 0.820% | 19 |
| #11 | Mississippi | 73 | 170 | 29 | 0.067% | 19 |
| #12 | Maryland | 36 | 412 | 6 | 0.228% | 18 |
| #13 | Connecticut | 21 | 449 | 2 | 0.438% | 17 |
| #14 | Georgia | #N/A | 509 | 0 | #N/A | 17 |
| #15 | Ohio | 25 | 353 | 11 | 0.274% | 15 |
| #16 | Florida | 3 | 429 | 15 | #N/A | 15 |
| #17 | North Carolina | 5 | 416 | 3 | 0.435% | 14 |
| #18 | South Carolina | #N/A | 436 | 0 | 0.046% | 14 |
| #19 | Louisiana | 54 | 148 | 24 | 1.103% | 14 |
| #20 | Indiana | 39 | 240 | 13 | 0.296% | 14 |
| #21 | Missouri | 29 | 274 | 13 | 0.676% | 13 |
| #22 | Kentucky | 5 | 390 | 0 | 0.088% | 13 |
| #23 | South Dakota | 18 | 277 | 35 | 0.505% | 13 |
| #24 | California | #N/A | 234 | 86 | #N/A | 12 |
| #25 | Illinois | 22 | 282 | 15 | 0.329% | 12 |
| #26 | New Hampshire | 5 | 374 | 0 | 0.913% | 12 |
| #27 | Iowa | 54 | 141 | 13 | 0.098% | 12 |
| #28 | Oklahoma | 3 | 90 | 143 | 0.058% | 11 |
| #29 | Maine | 15 | 282 | 2 | 0.319% | 11 |
| #30 | Oregon | 1 | 310 | 10 | 0.248% | 10 |
| #31 | Texas | #N/A | 299 | 3 | 0.022% | 9 |
| #32 | Tennessee | 7 | 279 | 0 | 0.088% | 9 |
| #33 | Arkansas | 21 | 190 | 3 | #N/A | 9 |
| #34 | Colorado | 25 | 143 | 35 | 0.118% | 9 |
| #35 | Vermont | 3 | 262 | 0 | 0.428% | 8 |
| #36 | Arizona | 6 | 198 | 29 | 0.039% | 8 |
| #37 | Idaho | #N/A | 211 | 10 | #N/A | 7 |
| #38 | Wisconsin | #N/A | 158 | 25 | #N/A | 6 |
| #39 | Kansas | 19 | 105 | 11 | #N/A | 6 |
| #40 | Minnesota | #N/A | 129 | 38 | #N/A | 5 |
| #41 | Washington | #N/A | 117 | 34 | 0.328% | 5 |
| #42 | Nebraska | 12 | 120 | 7 | 0.228% | 5 |
| #43 | New Mexico | 12 | 80 | 26 | 0.194% | 5 |
| #44 | Montana | 1 | 75 | 14 | 0.013% | 2 |
| #45 | Wyoming | 4 | 72 | 3 | 0.072% | 2 |
| #46 | North Dakota | #N/A | 48 | 11 | #N/A | 1 |
| #47 | Alabama | #N/A | 0 | 3 | #N/A | 0 |
| #48 | Alaska | #N/A | 0 | 2 | #N/A | 0 |
| #49 | Hawaii | #N/A | 0 | 0 | #N/A | 0 |
| #50 | Utah | #N/A | 0 | 0 | #N/A | 0 |
What Gambling Reveals About the American Way of Life
From Nevada’s billion-dollar casinos to Massachusetts’ record-breaking lottery sales, how Americans gamble says a lot about where they live. Some states love the bright lights and blackjack tables, while others prefer a quiet lottery ticket and a little luck. Whether your state bets big or plays it safe, the numbers speak for themselves.
