Lottery, casino jackpot winners are one thing, but Americans lost $119 billion in gambling in 2013

China follows suit with an addiction worth $76 b in losses.

By Deepak Chitnis

WASHINGTON, DC: A report released by The Economist reveals that Americans lost around $119 billion last year from gambling, the highest country in the world in that regard.

In the US, the vast majority of gambling losses occurred in casinos, the most of which are located in Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey, along with smaller venues like Charlestown, West Virginia. The next largest culprit was the lottery, which claimed about one-third as many losses as the casinos. The rest of the $119 billion came from individual betting, gaming machines (non-casino), interactive gambling (which is generally online gambling), and “other gambling.”

The report also mentions that 80% of Americans gamble at least once per year, and often do so with friends and family. Studies also show that the excitement of gambling is caused by the release of dopamine, a pleasure-based neurotransmitter that gets released in the body under happy or victorious circumstances.

Unfortunately, however, most people gamble because they’re under what the study calls “self-delusion,” an inexplicable feeling that they will beat the odds and make a fortune off of betting. The study also highlights the Dunning-Kruger Effect, a very real condition in which an unskilled player overestimates their abilities and loses a fortune gambling.

Such problems lead to millions of Americans each year losing their jobs, homes, and even their families. Games where skill and strategy often pay off, such as blackjack and poker – five-card stud, Texas Hold ‘Em, and so on – all claim a plethora of victims every year.

Several Asian countries made the list as well, with China and Japan coming in at $76 billion and $31.4 billion, respectively, with China being only second to the US. Singapore was further down the list at #11, with $7.8 billion in gambling losses, rounding out the Asian representation on the list. Although China’s gambling habits were not broken down by The Economist, it shows that the Japanese do the majority of their gambling via non-casino gambling machines, with betting coming in second.

To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com