New York

New Jersey Ranks Among the 10 Most Gambling-Addicted States in America, New Report Says

What to Know

  • U.S. consumers spend more than $100 billion a year in total gambling losses, a new WalletHub report says
  • Male addicts develop an average debt between $55,000 and $90,000, while female addicts develop an average debt of $15,000
  • New Jersey is tied for the most gambling-related arrests per capita in the nation

New Jersey has a gambling problem.

WalletHub looked at the 50 states on 19 key metrics ranging from lottery sales per capity to share of adults with gambling disorders to determine its ranking of America's most "gambling-addicted" locales in 2018. 

The Garden State came in eighth overall, while Nevada and South Dakota earned the dubious distinctions of the most and second-most gambling addicted states, the study found. New York came in 17th overall, while Connecticut was ranked the 37th most gambling-addicted state in the country.

New Jersey's relative high ranking was based largely on gambling-related arrests per capita, where it tied for worst with Illinois, Hawaii and Mississippi, and highest percentage of adults with gambling orders, where it tied for third worst with Kansas. 

New York, by comparison, was ranked among the 10 states with the lowest percent of adults with gambling disorders. There was an eight times difference between the worst and best on that metric, WalletHub found. 

See the full study results and methodology here.

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