These are 2½ million adults who are pathological gamblers.
Based on criteria developed by the American Psychiatric Association, we estimate that about 2½ million adults are pathological gamblers, and another 3 million adults should be considered problem gamblers.Extending these criteria more broadly, 15 million adults are at risk for problem gambling, and about 148 million are low-risk gamblers (about 29 million adults have never gambled).
Pathological, problem, and at-risk gambling are proportionately higher among African Americans than other ethnic groups, although African Americans still comprise a minority of all pathological gamblers.
- Pathological gambling is present in one out of five of the 1 percent of adults who consider themselves professional gamblers.
- Pathological gambling is found proportionately less often among people who are over 65, college graduates, and in households with incomes over $100,000 a year; however, college graduates are more likely to be at-risk gamblers than those at other education levels.
- The availability of a casino within 50 miles (versus 50 to 250 miles) is associated with about double the prevalence of problem and pathological gamblers, according to the combined patron and telephone survey results. This finding is similar to the difference in the overall level of past-year casino gambling (40 percent of adults living close to casinos versus 23 percent of adults living 50 to 250 miles away); however, these prevalence rates were not different in the telephone survey alone.
- Pathological and problem gamblers are more likely than other gamblers or nongamblers to have been on welfare, declared bankruptcy, and to have been arrested or incarcerated.
- Pathological and problems gamblers are much more likely than low-risk gamblers to gamble for the excitement, to have been troubled by mental or emotional problems including manic symptoms and depressive episodes, and to have received mental health care in the past year.
- Pathological and problem gamblers, who comprise about 2.5 percent of adults, probably account for 15 percent of casino, lottery, and pari-mutuel receipts from the gamblers who are represented in the surveys.
- Pathological and problem gamblers in the United States cost society approximately $5 billion per year and an additional $40 billion in lifetime costs for productivity reductions, social services, and creditor losses. However, these calculations are inadequate to capture the intrafamilial costs of divorce and family disruption associated with problem and pathological gambling.
