A new study by Wallet Hub says that New Jersey is the sixth most gambling-addicted state.

I thought New Jersey would be higher just based on how long we’ve had legalized gambling compared to the rest of the country. I guess it’s no surprise that Nevada is number one, but the Garden State is just sixth.

How did they arrive at their conclusions? They used two broad categories: “Gambling Friendliness” and “Gambling Problem and Treatment.” There are a total of 20 metrics across the categories, things like:

• Commercial and Tribal Casinos per Capita
• Gaming Machines per 1,000 residents
• iGaming Revenues per Capita
• Lottery Sales per Capita
• Legality of Sports Betting
• Legality of Horse Racing

For gambling problem and treatment, they looked at things like:

• Share of Adults with Gambling Disorders
• Gambling Counselors per Capita
• Gamblers Anonymous Meetings per Capita
• Spending on Problem Gambling Services per Capita
• Gambling Arrests per Capita
• Statewide Self Exclusion Statute

New Jersey ranked 9th for Gambling Friendliness and 12th for Gambling Problem and Treatment. We’re tied for third in Gambling Disorders and fifth in Gambling Arrests.

The top ten most gambling-addicted states are:

1. Nevada
2. South Dakota
3. Montana
4. Louisiana
5. Mississippi
6. New Jersey
7. Oklahoma
8. West Virginia
9. Pennsylvania
10. Oregon

The least gambling states are:

50. Utah
49. Vermont
48. Alaska
47. Hawaii
46. Maine
45. Wisconsin
44. Kansas
43. Nebraska
42. Florida
41. Connecticut

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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