In 2002 the U.S. gaming industry had gross revenues of approximately $68.7 billion, according to research cited by the American Gaming Association from industry analysts Christiansen Capital Advisors LLC. More than half of this figure came from casino gambling, $28.1 billion of which was from commercial ventures and $14.2 billion of which was from Indian reservation casinos. Lotteries took in another $18.6 billion, and the rest came from smaller categories, including pari-mutuel betting, with an estimated $4 billion; charitable games and bingo, $2.6 billion; card rooms, $972.5 million; and legal bookmaking, $116.2 million. The total amount Americans wager legally each year has been estimated at more than $800 billion, with illegal gambling through office pools and other unregulated activities put as high as $380 billion by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission Report of 1999.
In a December 2003 poll, the Gallup Organization found that 49% of Americans polled said they had bought a state lottery ticket during the preceding twelve months, while 30% had visited a casino, 15% had participated in an office pool, 14% had played a video poker machine, and 10% said they had bet on professional sports. (See Figure 6.1.) When compared with data collected in 1989 and 1990, the number of casino players had increased by 50%, while those who bet on horse races and college or pro sports had fallen by more than half, bingo players had dropped by almost two-thirds, and the number who bet on boxing matches had fallen by three-fourths.
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