What Is America’s Attitude Towards Online Gambling?

Back in 2010, a major step was taken when New Jersey became the very first state to legalize online gambling. Since then, a further 10 states have followed suit, including California, Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In nearly four-fifths of the country’s states, gambling online, whether it’s playing casino games for real money or placing bets on sporting events, is currently illegal. It’s likely that more states will make online gambling legal in the near future, but what do the American people think of this?

Before 2010, real-life gambling (i.e. playing games in land-based casinos and betting on sporting events) was very popular throughout the USA. It still is – you only to have to look at how much Las Vegas has been thriving to see just how much people love gambling. Vegas attracts millions from around the world thanks to its plethora of attractions and its many extravagant casino resorts. The gambling hotspot also attracts many millions of Americans, who enjoy visiting for wild weekends and fun-filled vacations.

The Start of the Mass Legalization

According to an extensive survey carried out in late 2018 by the National Council on Problem Gambling, 73% of Americans had gambled in the previous year. Just over a third (37%) had spent money at a land-based casino, while only 15% spent money at an online one. Even though online casinos are much more accessible than land-based casinos (you can play from the comfort of your own home), they’re not as popular.

This can be explained by two things. The first and most obvious is that the act of gambling online hasn’t been formally legalized in many states. The number of states where gambling at brick-and-mortar casinos is legal, is greater than the number of states where online gambling is allowed. Another explanation could well be people’s attitudes towards online gambling.

Whenever you place a bet of any kind, you’re taking a risk. After all, you’re spending money and there’s no guarantee what will happen: you might not get anything back, you might get a fraction of it back or, if you’re lucky enough, you might make a profit. The odds are against you. What makes some people think negatively about gambling is that you can easily lose money and easily become addicted.

What was interesting about New Jersey’s legalizing of online gambling was that politicians were more in favor of it than the general public. A survey carried out in 2012 by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind organization found that nearly a third (31%) of respondents were in favor of online gambling and New Jersey legalizing it, while a staggering 58% were against the idea.

With online gambling, you have countless casinos and games at your disposal and can gamble as much as you like whenever you like. In other words, there are very few restrictions (the only major ones are money and commitments such as work and family). Online casinos therefore make it much easier for people to spend money gambling and, as a potential result, get into debt or develop mental problems such as addiction.

Land-based gambling is safer in a way. Sure, you can still spend too much money and get addicted, but it’s less accessible, especially if you live far away from a casino. If you live right by one, it can be easy to fall into the habit of gaming too much, though casinos have been known to deny entry to those who they think are addicted or problematic in any way.

What is the Attitude These Days

Nowadays, it’s safe to say that America’s attitude towards gambling is more favorable than it was a decade ago. According to a survey that the American Gaming Association carried out, nearly 70% of respondents believe that gambling’s effect on the American economy is beneficial. New Jersey reported that in 2019, the total amount of revenue generated from its legalized online casinos was $482.7 million, which was 61.6% higher than the previous year. In fact, the state’s revenue from online gambling has risen every year since at least 2014.

It’s also worth mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic, which, at the time of writing, is still ongoing. This has caused online casino visitor numbers to increase because people have been stuck at home wanting things to do, and those who regularly visited land-based casinos have had to turn to online ones to get their gambling fix.

So, while there will always be those who don’t want online gambling to be legalized, more and more people are in favor of it. Online casinos in the USA have been growing in popularity and will no doubt continue to do so, even when people can start visiting land-based ones again. It’s only a matter of time before more states make internet gambling legal, if only so they can tax it and earn some money from it.