The data are based on the state of residency of the gambler. These data include net losses from all forms of legal gambling (lotteries, casinos, online casinos, sports betting, etc). Not all forms of gambling are legal in all states.
Would love to see this side by side with some sort of income based map. Does West Virginia lose less money or do they just have less money to gamble with to begin with? Still it’s a pretty neat map.
_BreakingGood_ on
In 2023, many of these states still had sports betting as illegal. I’d be curious to see 2025 numbers now that it is quite widely legalized.
BenTheHokie on
Would be interesting to see if there’s substantial changes pre and post DraftKings
Slammy_Adams on
The South looks pretty good when it comes to not losing money!
Georgia: Hold my beer
Due-Mycologist-7106 on
Are the highest ones low population states with a few people dragging the average up or something?
GentlemenBehold on
Surprised Nevada isn’t number one by a mile.
romario77 on
how come Nevada is so low? I would think casinos would make it higher.
geek66 on
Long ago I heard this called an idiot tax – but it truly is a heavy burden for people that really can’t afford it…
What is funny – wife and I took an anniversary trip to a casino (overnight was a prize she won) – WE dropped $800 – to use a crazy amount to just blow, but for the two of us THAT put us below the per capita average.
caffeinex2 on
Kinda surprised Utah isn’t in the bottom 5.
GMN123 on
What’s really sad is that most people don’t gamble much. These averages consist of a whole lot of zeros/tiny numbers and a small number of life destroying numbers.
thentil on
Kind of a strange map. Seems like there’s an interplay with both opportunity and income, although Alaska and Georgia are kind of surprising to me.
sumguy225 on
It might be neat to check if there is a correlation with per capita GDP or average salaries by states
StabithaStevens on
That’s like $1.3B Utahns are gambling away in other states.
Naomi62625 on
I like how Nevada isn’t even in the top 5
Bostonphoenix on
I don’t get how Washington is so high. You have to actually travel to gamble. All the apps are illegal.
gtheot on
Alaska is confusing because, especially in 2023, gambling has been pretty restricted and there isn’t easy access to casinos.
callahan09 on
$566 national average per capita? Am I interpreting this correctly, that’s like $566 lost to gambling x 340.1 million people? Or about $192.5 billion a year lost to gambling?
grew_up_on_reddit on
Mississippi actually winning for once.
Natural-Warthog-1462 on
Fucking gambling. Fuck the NFL and the other leagues for leaning into it. Sucking poor and addicted people dry
TacTurtle on
Interesting that the net gambling losses per capita in Alaska roughly match the average PFD dividend.
zoehange on
Is this lifetime? Per year?
clownchkn on
I’ll bet ya this map is exaggerated.
James_T_Lunatic on
Hang in there. Your luck is going to turn around
Malady17 on
Sports gambling should be illegal, this is going to get and already has gotten a lot worse.
jimph6361 on
Does the stock market count
indypendant13 on
Hey look Mississippi is first in something good!
bishpa on
For every gambling loss, there is a corresponding gambling win, no?
Blutrumpeter on
Surprised Texas is so high when they have no reservations
Peppersteak122 on
Does this include the loss from r/wallstreetbets? I lost $1,200 earlier this year $RDDT.
nwbrown on
Alaska you have a problem.
Dead-HC-Taco on
All i see is that washington stopped mining just before they hit diamonds
jmads13 on
These are rookie numbers. Signed Australia 🇦🇺
GalaxyGuy42 on
So, Americans are losing $190 billion a year to gambling. But money doesn’t just vaporize when you lose a bet. Do we have a breakdown on where that money goes? Some combination of a) gambling winners, b) state budgets (from lotto, etc), and c) Companies that run gambling (DraftKings, casinos, etc).
cobalt_phantom on
Georgia doesn’t even have casinos, sportsbooks, or online gambling. That’s pretty much just lotto tickets in the 8th most populated state.
bastiancontrari on
Those numbers are mind-blowing.
Gambling truly is a beast of its own. It’s the only way even the richest person on earth can end up broke.
There are so many drugs you can do, so many women you can chase. Squandering money, as funny as it sounds, can reach a limit where you physically can’t squander more. The hours in a day are not enough.
But gambling is limitless. You can burn a fortune in just one day.
DeaconMcFly on
Gambling is so god damned stupid.
charli63 on
Note that no one was able to get net positive.
nbaumg on
I gambled for the first time last month. I pulled out the moment I was positive.
![[OC] Net Gambling Losses Per Capita](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/qqmr90mv30of1-1536x1536.jpeg "[OC] Net Gambling Losses Per Capita")
43 Comments
is this like, per year, a lifetime? a day?
That $666 in California is outright beastly.
Never gambling is a life hack!
Data: [https://apps.bea.gov/regional/downloadzip.htm](https://apps.bea.gov/regional/downloadzip.htm)
Tools: R (packages: dplyr, ggplot2, sf, usmap, tools, ggfx, grid, scales)
The data are based on the state of residency of the gambler. These data include net losses from all forms of legal gambling (lotteries, casinos, online casinos, sports betting, etc). Not all forms of gambling are legal in all states.
Edit: You can see gambling laws by state here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_the_United_States#Legality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_the_United_States#Legality)
What’s up with WA, why is it so high?
Would love to see this side by side with some sort of income based map. Does West Virginia lose less money or do they just have less money to gamble with to begin with? Still it’s a pretty neat map.
In 2023, many of these states still had sports betting as illegal. I’d be curious to see 2025 numbers now that it is quite widely legalized.
Would be interesting to see if there’s substantial changes pre and post DraftKings
The South looks pretty good when it comes to not losing money!
Georgia: Hold my beer
Are the highest ones low population states with a few people dragging the average up or something?
Surprised Nevada isn’t number one by a mile.
how come Nevada is so low? I would think casinos would make it higher.
Long ago I heard this called an idiot tax – but it truly is a heavy burden for people that really can’t afford it…
What is funny – wife and I took an anniversary trip to a casino (overnight was a prize she won) – WE dropped $800 – to use a crazy amount to just blow, but for the two of us THAT put us below the per capita average.
Kinda surprised Utah isn’t in the bottom 5.
What’s really sad is that most people don’t gamble much. These averages consist of a whole lot of zeros/tiny numbers and a small number of life destroying numbers.
Kind of a strange map. Seems like there’s an interplay with both opportunity and income, although Alaska and Georgia are kind of surprising to me.
It might be neat to check if there is a correlation with per capita GDP or average salaries by states
That’s like $1.3B Utahns are gambling away in other states.
I like how Nevada isn’t even in the top 5
I don’t get how Washington is so high. You have to actually travel to gamble. All the apps are illegal.
Alaska is confusing because, especially in 2023, gambling has been pretty restricted and there isn’t easy access to casinos.
$566 national average per capita? Am I interpreting this correctly, that’s like $566 lost to gambling x 340.1 million people? Or about $192.5 billion a year lost to gambling?
Mississippi actually winning for once.
Fucking gambling. Fuck the NFL and the other leagues for leaning into it. Sucking poor and addicted people dry
Interesting that the net gambling losses per capita in Alaska roughly match the average PFD dividend.
Is this lifetime? Per year?
I’ll bet ya this map is exaggerated.
Hang in there. Your luck is going to turn around
Sports gambling should be illegal, this is going to get and already has gotten a lot worse.
Does the stock market count
Hey look Mississippi is first in something good!
For every gambling loss, there is a corresponding gambling win, no?
Surprised Texas is so high when they have no reservations
Does this include the loss from r/wallstreetbets? I lost $1,200 earlier this year $RDDT.
Alaska you have a problem.
All i see is that washington stopped mining just before they hit diamonds
These are rookie numbers. Signed Australia 🇦🇺
So, Americans are losing $190 billion a year to gambling. But money doesn’t just vaporize when you lose a bet. Do we have a breakdown on where that money goes? Some combination of a) gambling winners, b) state budgets (from lotto, etc), and c) Companies that run gambling (DraftKings, casinos, etc).
Georgia doesn’t even have casinos, sportsbooks, or online gambling. That’s pretty much just lotto tickets in the 8th most populated state.
Those numbers are mind-blowing.
Gambling truly is a beast of its own. It’s the only way even the richest person on earth can end up broke.
There are so many drugs you can do, so many women you can chase. Squandering money, as funny as it sounds, can reach a limit where you physically can’t squander more. The hours in a day are not enough.
But gambling is limitless. You can burn a fortune in just one day.
Gambling is so god damned stupid.
Note that no one was able to get net positive.
I gambled for the first time last month. I pulled out the moment I was positive.
+ 20 cents baby