NCJ Number
102281
Journal
Gaming and Wagering Business Volume: 7 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1986) Pages: 27-33
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A survey of all types of legal and illegal gambling concludes that aggregate wagering in U.S. commercial gambling games reached $190.8 billion in 1985, a 7.6-percent increase over 1984 and an all-time high for the United States.
Abstract
The author emphasizes that the $190 million is a handle that measures the volume and velocity of gambled dollars, not the economic value to operators and players. To show where the gambling dollars flowed, the survey discusses casinos, which accounted for over half the gross wager, and parimutuels, the second largest legal gambling industry. Other legal gambling areas covered are lotteries, legal bookmaking, non-Nevada cards rooms, nonreservation bingo, charitable games, and Indian reservation gambling. Estimates of illegal gambling are given for racebooks, sportsbooks/sportscards, and numbers. Overall, top gambling performers were State lotteries, Nevada's legal books, and slot machines. The second tier of top performers were charitable games, illegal gambling, and greyhounds. Games that failed to keep pace with the economy included card room gambling, parimutuel horse racing, and jai-alai. Tables and graphs.