With the gambling industry bringing in a record $71.9 billion in revenue last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Most Gambling-Addicted States, as well as expert commentary, in order to highlight where this dangerous addiction is most prevalent.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from the presence of illegal gambling operations to lottery sales per capita to the share of adults with gambling disorders.

To Oklahoma’s credit, the state has moved down from fifth to seventh in the nation since Tulsa Today last covered Oklahoma’s betting ways April 24, 2019 here, but the heartache of the addiction is still too great. Granted, many Oklahoma casinos cater to out-of-state bus tour players, but ranking first in casinos and gaming machines and legal daily fantasy sports is not success.

Concern about this issue is totally nonpartisan and universal beyond tribal greed. It’s a health issue.

Gambling Addiction in Oklahoma (1=Most Addicted, 25=Avg.):

• Overall Rank: 7^th
• 1^st – Casinos per Capita
• 1^st – Gaming Machines per Capita
• 9^th – % of Adults with Gambling Disorders
• 1^st – Legality of Daily Fantasy Sports

But not all gamblers are the same. “Recreational” or “social” gamblers, for instance, buy the occasional lottery ticket, take the rare casino trip or bet small stakes in fantasy sports. But they are mentally able to quit at any point and prevent catastrophic financial loss.

As Wallethub notes in the report, when individual control is lost, gambling becomes a real medical condition. Gambling disorder, as it’s known, affects about 1-3 percent of all U.S. adults. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Gambling can stimulate the brain’s reward system much like drugs such as alcohol can, leading to addiction.”

That addiction can lead to serious economic consequences. While the gambling industry made a record $71.9 billion in revenue last year, U.S. consumers experience over $100 billion per year in total gambling losses annually. Individually, a male gambling addict accumulates an average debt of between $55,000 and $90,000 whereas a female addict averages $15,000. Most cannot afford to pay back what they owe. As a result, gambling addicts develop a high tendency to amass even more debt, suffer from other health issues, lose their jobs, strain their relationships or even commit crimes.