A recent Gallup poll reveals that approximately half of American adults engage in some form of gambling, yet confirmed participation has decreased across nearly all categories in recent years.
The telephone survey indicated that 45% of respondents admitted to gambling at least once in the past year, which is a significant drop from 64% recorded in 2016. In comparison, an online survey conducted by Gallup found a participation rate of 53%, though this method also produced higher affirmative responses overall.
The polling involved 2,201 American adults surveyed by phone during June and July. Gallup weighted these responses based on various demographic factors, political affiliations, and phone usage, reporting a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Similarly, an online survey in June queried 2,043 members of the Gallup Panel, with the same margin of error.
The findings highlighted notable declines in traditional gambling activities. For instance, in-person casino gaming participation fell by 12 percentage points, while lottery ticket purchases dropped by 18 percentage points. Despite this decline, buying state lottery tickets and playing at casinos remained the most popular gambling activities, reported by 31% and 14% of respondents, respectively, in the telephone survey and 38% and 19% in the online poll.
By contrast, only 7% of phone survey respondents indicated they placed bets on professional sports events, down from 10% previously, while just 4% reported gambling online. Only online gambling showed a slight upswing, increasing by one percentage point since 2016, a year when legal online gambling was far less prevalent, and the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) had not yet been repealed.
Gallup suggested that the rise in online gambling options may contribute to the declining participation rates for traditional forms of gambling over the past decade.
The disparity between affirmative responses in the online survey and the telephone survey led Gallup to propose that individuals might feel more comfortable disclosing their gambling habits in writing rather than speaking them aloud.
The decrease in reported gambling activity raises questions: Are fewer people participating in gambling overall, or are they simply less willing to admit it? The landscape of gambling in 2026 is markedly different from that of 2016, with numerous new gambling options available and increased visibility of gambling-related issues in media and sports among lawmakers.
Gallup's findings hint at a potential shift in the average American's attitude towards gambling. The organization observed, "Whether that decline represents a sharp turn away from gambling, reluctance from survey respondents to indicate they gamble, or both, is unclear. To the extent it indicates that Americans are less comfortable saying they gamble, it could be tied to lessening public acceptance of gambling or not wanting to appear to take risks with money when rising costs and affordability are major concerns."
Additionally, the poll revealed a decline in the perception of gambling as morally acceptable, falling from 67% in 2016 to 57% in 2026, a 10 percentage point decrease.
New options such as betting on online prediction markets and playing fantasy sports for money were included in the 2026 survey, generating reported rates of 2% and 4%, respectively. However, the prediction markets section was limited to wagering on non-athletic events, omitting much of the sports-related trading activity on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Data indicates sports trading makes up a significant portion of activity on these platforms, especially as new NFL seasons approach.
While these emerging betting options were not categorized separately, respondents who exclusively engaged in prediction markets could have factored these activities into existing categories like betting on sports or gambling online.
In sum, the landscape of gambling and its acceptance appears to be evolving, underlining the complexities of participation trends and societal attitudes in an increasingly diverse gambling environment.
