The percentage of U.S. adults who report doing any kind of gambling during the past year fell to 45%, down from 64% a decade ago, according to an Aug. 17 report from Gallup.
The findings are based on telephone interviews conducted by ReconMR June 1 to July 19, 2026, with a random sample of 2,201 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Gallup also conducted a web survey from June 1-15, 2026, with a stratified random sample of 2,043 adults, aged 18 and older, who are members of the Gallup Panel.
Here are four things to know:
1. Lottery and casino participation have fallen from earlier highs. State lottery participation, which was reported by consistent majorities between 1989 and 1999, fell to the high-40% range between 2003 and 2016 and to 31% in the current survey. In-person casino gambling rose from 20% in 1989 to 30% in 2003 before falling to 14% in the current survey.
2. Other forms of gambling also declined. Office pool participation fell from 15% in the early 2000s to 7% today. Playing video poker fell from as high as 20% in 1999 to 5% today. Internet gambling, at 4%, was the only measured form that had not shown a decline over time.
3. Declines extended across major demographic groups. Compared with the 2016 survey, declines in participating in at least one form of gambling ranged from about 15 to 25 percentage points across major subgroups. In the current survey, 54% of adults with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more reported gambling, compared with 45% of those earning $50,000 to $99,999 and 40% of those earning less than $50,000.
4. Survey mode produced different estimates. The web survey found 53% of U.S. adults gambled during the past year, compared with 45% in the telephone survey. For sports gambling specifically, the web survey estimate was 21%, compared with 15% in the telephone survey.
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