How Addicted to Gambling Are We in New York?

Gambling and gaming has spread like wildfire in the last few decades. We have sparkly casinos and fun racetracks all across New York State. Online sports betting outlets have flourished. Popular movies like Molly's Game, Rounders, and the Oceans series have exposed the inner workings of gambling operations.

But the bottom line for some is this: gambling can be a big problem--a temptation and a vice that's too big to overcome. Financial services website WalletHub's new study of 2019's Most Gambling-Addicted States is very revealing. New York ranked high in some areas, and the numbers provided some other fascinating information.

WalletHub's research of "20 key metrics ranges from presence of illegal gambling operations to lottery sales per capita to share of adults with gambling disorders." That data was organized into two main categories: "Gambling Friendliness" and "Gambling Problem & Treatment."

New York was ranked 14th in the former and 44th in the latter, for an overall rank of 24th, indicating that while lots of gambling options exist in the Empire State, we're avoiding the potential pitfalls better than most.

Conversely, Utah, which ranked 50th in gambling options, was 22nd in gambling problems. Hawaii has similar issues, ranking 47th in gambling options and 2nd in problems.

New York was also tied for 43rd in Percentage of Adults with Gambling Disorders, while New Jersey was tied for 3rd in that stat.

#1 overall on the list of gambling-addicted states? Nevada, of course, home of Las Vegas.