WalletHub: Gambling addiction is not much of a problem in the Valley
Apr 28, 2019, 2:42 PM | Updated: 2:53 pm
(Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)
(Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)
PHOENIX — Home to Turf Paradise horse track and several casinos, it’s not hard to see how someone could get hooked on gambling in the Valley.
Fortunately for the state, gambling addiction has not been much of a problem at all.
In a recent study performed by WalletHub, Arizona was ranked as the No. 45 most gambling-addicted state, or the sixth-least gambling-addicted state.
Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst, said that per capita, Arizona doesn’t have as many opportunities to gamble as other states.
“There’s not a lot of commercial or tribal casinos per capita, not too many gaming machines per 1,000 residents either,” she said. “In terms of the legality of things like daily fantasy sports, sports gambling, horse race gambling; not too much going on there either.”
Taking into account 20 key metrics, including data from illegal gambling operations, lottery sales, casino operations and gambling disorders, the study calculated a total score to evaluate which state was the most addicted. Arizona’s score of 26.15 was nearly 40 points lower than neighboring Nevada, which had the highest score of 64.11.
Arizona was ranked as the No. 45 most gambling-friendly state and No. 33 in the “gambling problem and treatment” category.
The study was published nearly two weeks ahead of the Kentucky Derby, which is slated to run on Saturday. The horse race is one of the biggest gambling days of the year.
