Horse racing among US gambling’s declining outlets

Horse racing has joined a broad decline in gambling participation among US adults, with fewer than seven per cent of Americans now betting on races, according to a new Gallup Poll.

The research found 45 per cent of US adults had gambled for money in the past year, down from 64 per cent in 2016 and similar levels recorded in 2003 and 2007.

Horse racing, professional sports betting and video poker all attracted participation from fewer than 10 per cent of adults in 2016, with each falling below seven per cent in the latest survey.

The decline comes despite a significant expansion in legal sports wagering since the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, allowing individual states to establish their own markets.

Gallup found professional and college sports betting had attracted fewer participants than in any previous version of its gambling survey, despite the greater availability of legal wagering options.

Lotteries remain the most popular form of gambling among US adults, although participation has fallen into the high-40 per cent range after consistently reaching majority levels for much of the survey’s history.

Casino gambling, which rose from 20 per cent in 1989 to 30 per cent in 2003 as more states legalised casinos, has also declined to 14 per cent, while only four per cent of respondents reported gambling for money online.

The survey was conducted by telephone in June and July among more than 2200 US adults, with Gallup having tracked gambling behaviour since 1989.