CasinoReviews.net has conducted a five-year analysis examining gambling-related search trends across the United States. Their study includes nearly 200 metropolitan areas, revealing that searches for "gambling addiction" occurred in 199 locales, whereas only 35 markets saw searches for "gambling helpline." Strikingly, eight out of the top ten areas for addiction searches are found in states that do not have regulated online casinos.
As Responsible Gaming Education Month kicks off in September and the NFL season approaches, CasinoReviews.net's analysis sheds light on an aspect of gambling behavior that regulators have often speculated about but lacked quantifiable data. The report suggests that in areas where online gambling is regulated, individuals seek help early, while in unregulated regions, they only look for assistance after problems have developed.
The study leveraged Google Trends data from August 2021 to February 2026 to compare the term "gambling addiction" with "gambling helpline." It highlights two distinct realities across the country.
Key Findings:
– The eight metros with the highest search volumes for "gambling addiction" are located in unregulated states. These include Beaumont-Port Arthur and Abilene-Sweetwater in Texas, Cheyenne in Wyoming, and Great Falls in Montana.
– A total of 199 metropolitan areas exhibit searches for "gambling addiction," while only 35 search for "gambling helpline," indicating a stark difference. Notably, every area tracking helpline inquiries is within a state that has legal online gambling and mandates 1-800-GAMBLER advertising disclosures.
– Searches for national helplines surged in early 2023, coinciding with Ohio and Massachusetts launching regulated online sports betting. This trend intensified into 2024 and throughout the current NFL season.
– The analysis of five metropolitan areas in states lacking regulation revealed zero measurable search volume for helplines over five years, although these areas rank among the highest for addiction-related searches.
– Helena, Montana, stands out as the leading city for Gamblers Anonymous searches, despite having only a lottery-based sports model without a commercial online gambling system.
What the Data Suggests:
The findings illustrate a clear pattern. In regulated markets, the requirement to display helpline information on advertisements, app screens, and promotional emails appears effective. Residents in Cincinnati and Boston did not search for helplines in 2022. Their searches began soon after their states introduced regulated online betting paired with clear disclosure. In contrast, Texans from Beaumont and Abilene engage with offshore casinos and sweepstakes apps that avoid necessary disclosures, leading to a search pattern that indicates crises only arise after issues materialize.
Wyoming’s situation strengthens this conclusion. Although online sports betting is legal, Cheyenne ranks fifth nationally for "gambling addiction" search queries but records no inquiries for helplines. This indicates that simply legalizing gambling is insufficient to raise public awareness, as seen in states like Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina where disclosures are actively enforced. Interestingly, these effects do not hinge on the availability of online casinos; Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Florida exclusively offer regulated sports betting yet lead the helpline rankings, along with Michigan's two iGaming cities.
Why This Matters Now:
With September being Responsible Gaming Education Month and the NFL season marking a peak betting time, the data uncovers what states without regulated online gambling stand to lose. Gambling activity persists, but on unregulated platforms that do not present helpline information. The resulting search behaviors reflect the fallout. For regulators in states where gambling is legal, this analysis provides rare behavioral evidence that mandated disclosures can influence player actions.
For those interested in more details, the full dataset, methodology, and a breakdown of metro-level rankings are available upon request.
The methodology used in the study includes Google Trends data, web searches across all categories for the United States from August 2021 through February 2026. It’s important to note that the presented figures are relative per-capita search indices rather than absolute volumes. Nevada metros rank notably high in both search terms, consistent with the state's land-based casino density, and these results are illustrated in the accompanying graphics.
