Problem Gambling Funding Gap: What States Actually Spend

US gaming revenue has reached successive records while public funding for problem gambling services has grown far more slowly. That divergence is now the central argument in a policy debate about whether states should dedicate a fixed share of gambling tax revenue to treatment and prevention — and the numbers behind it are stark.

Quick answer: Public funding for problem gambling services in the US rose from roughly $80 million in 2018 to about $134 million in 2023, but seven states still provide no funding at all. States spend an average of 35 cents per resident on prevention, education and treatment. With an estimated 2.5 million American adults meeting clinical criteria for gambling disorder, that works out to roughly $78 per affected person per year.

The Numbers in Context

The $134 million figure sounds substantial in isolation. Set against the scale of the industry it is meant to address, it is not.

US commercial gaming revenue has been setting annual records, and online casino revenue alone exceeded $6 billion in the first half of 2026, on pace for roughly $12 billion across the full year. Sports betting handle across legal states runs into the hundreds of billions annually.

The proportion of that activity directed toward problem gambling services is a fraction of a percent. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates the current funding gap at several hundred million dollars annually.

What $78 Per Person Buys

The per-person figure is the most revealing statistic in the data. Approximately $78 per year, per adult meeting clinical criteria for gambling disorder, is barely the cost of a single therapy session in most US markets.

Evidence-based treatment for gambling disorder typically involves multi-month programmes — cognitive behavioural therapy delivered over an extended course, often alongside financial counselling and, where indicated, treatment for co-occurring conditions. The gap between what the funding covers and what effective treatment requires is not marginal.

The average of 35 cents per resident on prevention, education and treatment also obscures wide variation. Seven states fund nothing at all, which means residents in those states rely entirely on national helplines and whatever services operators voluntarily provide.

Why the Funding Lags

Several structural factors explain the gap.

• No dedicated funding mechanism. In most states, problem gambling appropriations compete against every other budget line each year rather than drawing automatically from gaming revenue.
• Legalisation moved faster than public health infrastructure. States authorised sports betting and iGaming rapidly after 2018, and treatment capacity did not scale alongside.
• Low awareness. NCPG survey work has consistently found that awareness of problem gambling resources lags well behind awareness of the gambling products themselves.
• Diffuse constituency. Gambling disorder carries stigma, and affected individuals rarely organise as an advocacy bloc in the way other health constituencies do.

The Policy Proposals

Two proposals dominate the current debate.

Dedicated percentage of state gaming tax revenue

NCPG is pushing states to allocate a fixed share of iGaming and sports betting tax revenue to problem gambling services. The appeal is that funding would scale automatically with the industry rather than requiring annual appropriation fights, and would grow as gambling availability grows.

Federal sports betting excise tax reinvestment

At the federal level, NCPG advocates redirecting a portion of the existing sports betting excise tax into state-level gambling addiction services. The tax already exists and currently flows to general revenue, so this would create a dedicated stream without a new levy.

Neither proposal has broad legislative traction yet, though both have gained visibility as gaming revenue records have made the disparity harder to defend.

The Prevalence Picture

NCPG's NGAGE survey work has found gambling risk levels holding broadly steady rather than escalating sharply, which complicates the simplest version of the argument. Awareness of available resources, however, continues to lag.

That combination points toward a specific conclusion: the issue may be less about a rapidly worsening prevalence rate and more about a treatment system that was never adequately built in the first place, now serving a substantially larger exposed population than it was designed for.

What Operators Do and Do Not Cover

Licensed operators listed at DeucesCracked are generally required to provide responsible gambling tools — deposit limits, time limits, self-exclusion, reality checks — and to fund helpline referrals. Those requirements have expanded meaningfully in recent years.

What operator-funded programmes do not typically cover is clinical treatment. Tools that help a player manage their own behaviour are prevention infrastructure, not therapy. The treatment side depends almost entirely on public funding, which is where the gap sits.

What to Watch

1. States adopting dedicated funding formulas tied to gaming tax revenue rather than annual appropriation.
2. Whether the seven zero-funding states change position as legalisation expands.
3. Federal excise tax proposals and whether any gain committee support.
4. Treatment capacity data — funding is only useful if there are trained clinicians to deliver services.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do US states spend on problem gambling services?

Roughly $134 million in total as of 2023, up from about $80 million in 2018 — an average of approximately 35 cents per resident, with seven states providing no funding at all.

How many Americans have a gambling disorder?

NCPG survey data estimates about 2.5 million American adults meet clinical criteria for gambling disorder.

Is problem gambling getting worse?

NCPG survey work has found risk levels holding broadly steady rather than escalating sharply, though awareness of available resources continues to lag well behind awareness of gambling products.

What is NCPG proposing?

Allocating a fixed percentage of state iGaming and sports betting tax revenue to problem gambling services, and redirecting a share of the federal sports betting excise tax into state-level addiction services.

Do gambling operators fund treatment?

Operators typically fund responsible gambling tools and helpline referrals under licensing requirements, but clinical treatment depends almost entirely on public funding.

Bottom Line

The funding data describes a system built for a much smaller industry. Gaming revenue has scaled dramatically since 2018; treatment funding has grown by roughly two-thirds over the same period, from a low base, and seven states still contribute nothing. Whether dedicated funding formulas gain traction is the question that will determine whether that gap narrows or widens.

If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER, offering confidential support and referrals to local services. For more on the industry's regulatory landscape, see our gambling guides and latest articles.