Gambling in America - Who Is Gambling?

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., operates twenty-six casinos in the United States and publishes an annual survey to identify characteristics and preferences of casino gamblers. The survey results in Profile of the American Casino Gambler: Harrah's Survey 2003 were based on three nationwide studies: "The Roper Reports," conducted by Roper ASW; and "The U.S. Gaming Panel" and "A Night in the Life of a Casino Gambler," conducted by the NFO World Group, Inc.

Harrah's reported that 26% of the U.S. population ages twenty-one and older gambled at a casino in 2002. This amounted to 51.2 million American adults, who took an average of almost six trips each to casinos per year. (See Table 6.2.) Gamblers were characterized as sharing many of the same leisure-time preferences as other Americans, but they tended to be more active during their leisure time—traveling, attending sports events, eating out, and using the Internet more than most American adults.

The Harrah's survey further showed that compared to the average American, the typical casino gambler was middle-aged, more likely to be female, and slightly better educated with a higher average household income. (See Table 6.3 and Figure 6.2.) The median household income for casino gamblers was a full 20% higher than that of the

TABLE 6.3

Age, income, and gender of casino gamblers vs. national average, 2002
Demographics	U.S. population	U.S. casino gamblers
SOURCE: "Age, Income and Gender of Casino Gamblers vs. National Average," in Profile of the American Casino Gambler, Harrah's Entertainment, 2003, http://www.harrahs.com/about_us/survey/index.html (accessed September 10, 2004). Data from Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., NFO WorldGroup, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Median age–age 21+	45	47
Median household income	$42,228	$50,716
Male/female ratio	48/52%	46/54%

average American; and 5% more casino gamblers held white-collar jobs than held white-collar jobs in the general population. (See Figure 6.3.)

Profile of the American Casino Gambler reported that casino gambling was most popular among adults ages fifty-one to sixty-five, and this group accounted for more than 30% of persons who had gambled during the twelve months prior to the survey. The second most frequent casino gamblers were persons over age sixty-six. (See Table 6.4.) One reason casino gambling was more popular among older adults may be that many have more free time and discretionary income (funds they could choose to use for recreation as opposed to life's necessities) than younger adults.

Casino participation rates rose with higher levels of income. Slightly more than one-fifth of adults with annual household incomes of less than $35,000 gambled in casinos, while more than a third of those earning more than $95,000 per year said they were casino players. (See Figure 6.4.)

There were also geographic variations in casino participation: the rates were highest in the western and north-central regions and lowest in the South. (See Figure 6.5.) The higher participation in the West was due in part to the proximity of Las Vegas with its many casinos, as well as the availability of Indian gaming in most other states in the region. The north-central region similarly offered commercial or Indian gaming in every state but Ohio. In 2002 one-third of all trips to casinos were made by residents of five states, with California at the top of the list (17% of total trips). (See Figure 6.6.) The top states in total commercial casino revenues that year were Nevada ($9.4 billion), New Jersey ($4.4 billion), Mississippi ($2.7 billion), Indiana ($2.1 billion), and Louisiana ($2 billion), according to the American Gaming Association.

Favorite Casino Games

According to the 2003 Harrah's survey, Americans greatly preferred slot machines and other electronic gaming

FIGURE 6.2

devices to table games such as blackjack, roulette, and craps. Nearly three-quarters of the games played were slots or video poker, with quarter slots the most popular denomination. The preference for slots and electronic gaming machines increased with age: more than three-quarters (78%) of casino players older than sixty-six favored machines over table games. Surprisingly, younger players who grew up playing video games were not the biggest fans of slots and electronic gambling devices, as they were more likely than older adults to prefer table games.

The Harrah's study also indicated that in 2003 women were far more likely than men to play slot machines and other electronic games: 81% of women favored slots and electronic gaming and just 8% played table games. Although more men played slots and machines than played table games (67% versus 20%), men were more than twice as likely as women to play blackjack, roulette, or craps.