New Study In Iowa Finds An Increase In Iowa Gambling

A new Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) study, Gambling Attitudes and Behaviors: A 2018 Survey of Adult Iowans, estimates over 1.7 million (73.8%) adult Iowans gambled during the past 12 months. Of that number, about 315,000 (13.6%) are classified as “at-risk,” meaning they are experiencing some symptoms of problem gambling. These figures are up from the 2015 survey, which found 68.1% of adult Iowans had gambled during past 12 months and 12.6% classified as at-risk.

The report, prepared by the University of Northern Iowa Center for Social and Behavioral Research, includes a companion document titled Sports Betting and Fantasy Sports, which found about 9% of adult Iowans either bet on sports or played fantasy sports. In this combined group, 23% were classified as at-risk gamblers, higher than the overall gambling at-risk percentage of 13.6%