Myth:
The individual states are opposed to gambling.

Fact:
This is not correct. Gambling is legal in 48 of 50 states. The individual states not only regulate and license gambling, they also own the largest gambling operations in the world – state lotteries. There are 41 state lotteries in the United States. All of these lotteries are state-owned monopolies.

Details:
Today, state-sanctioned gambling opportunities are available in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands. Hawaii and Utah are the only two states where state-sanctioned wagering does not presently exist in some form. The state-sanctioned gambling and betting activities within the United States include:

• bingo in 47 states
• betting on horse racing, dog racing or other sports in at least 41 states
• state-operated lotteries offering games such as lotto, keno and instant lotteries in 41 states and the District of Columbia
• casinos in 33 states, which include both commercial and tribal casinos offering a wide variety of gambling games such as card games, betting and random selection games such as roulette and slot machines
• gambling machines such as slot machines or VLTs at horse racetracks in eight states and in a variety of locations such as bars, truck stops and convenience stores in five states in a regulated environment and in five states operating in “gray market,” (where legality or illegality is unclear)
• card rooms in five states

The omnipresence of fully lawful, state-sanctioned gambling makes the United States the single largest national gambling market in the world.

References:
chart of united states gambling as of 2003 (Source: Bear Stearns)

Gross Annual Wager of the United States 2003 (Source: Christiansen Capital Advisors)

American Gaming Association State of the States 2005 Survey