Pew Survey Finds Americans More Permissive on Gambling Than Most Countries
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Only 29% of Americans say gambling is morally wrong, according to a new Pew Research Center survey covering 25 countries.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The findings matter for operators, regulators and advocacy groups because public attitudes help shape policy, advertising tolerance and long-term market growth.
The 2025 study suggests the United States remains one of the more permissive countries surveyed when it comes to gambling. About half of U.S. adults said gambling is not a moral issue at all, while another 20% described it as morally acceptable.
U.S. Views Stand Out in Global Comparison
That places the United States well below several countries where gambling carries a far heavier moral stigma. In Indonesia, 89% of respondents called gambling morally wrong. In India, the figure reached 83%.
The contrast is not limited to countries with strong legal or religious restrictions. Italy and Brazil also recorded far higher disapproval rates than the United States, at 71% and 61% respectively.
Taken together, the numbers point to a familiar but important reality: attitudes toward gambling are shaped not just by law, but by culture, religion and social norms. In the United States, gambling is more often treated as a personal choice than a moral failure. In other countries, that distinction is far less common.
For companies operating across borders, that gap is more than academic. A gambling brand expanding into a country with strong moral objections faces a very different environment from one entering the U.S. market, where regulation may be strict but public resistance is often softer.
Related: Research Shows Gambling Disorder Involves Brain Changes
American Attitudes Are Not Standing Still
Although the United States remains relatively tolerant, the survey also shows a modest shift over time. In 2013, 24% of Americans said gambling was morally wrong. By 2025, that number had risen to 29%.
That increase is not dramatic, but it is notable because it comes during a period of rapid legal gambling expansion in the U.S., especially in sports betting. More Americans today can bet legally than a decade ago, yet a slightly larger share now says gambling crosses a moral line.
The survey does not explain why. Still, the trend may be worth watching as betting ads, mobile apps and gambling partnerships become a more visible part of everyday American life.
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The Real Divisions Are Inside the U.S.
The national average also hides large internal differences. Americans do not think about gambling in the same way, and some of the biggest divides appear across race, religion and income.
According to the Pew data, Asian Americans were the most likely to say gambling is morally wrong, at 45%. Hispanic Americans followed at 38%, while Black Americans stood at 37%. White Americans were the least likely to disapprove, at 23%.
Religion mattered too. Christians were more likely than Jewish Americans and the religiously unaffiliated to view gambling as immoral.
Income also shaped opinion. Lower-income Americans were more likely than higher-income adults to see gambling in moral terms, a pattern that fits wider concerns about gambling-related harm in financially vulnerable communities.
These differences matter because they influence how gambling is debated locally. A national expansion strategy may look straightforward on paper, but attitudes on the ground can vary sharply depending on the community.
Why the Survey Matters
Public opinion does not automatically determine behavior, and the Pew survey does not tell us whether people who disapprove of gambling actually avoid it. It also does not break attitudes down by gambling type. A lottery ticket, a casino visit and a sports bet may carry very different meanings for different people.
Even so, the study offers a useful benchmark. It shows that Americans are, on balance, more accepting of gambling than many other populations, but it also shows that the U.S. market is not culturally uniform.
For policymakers, that means regulation cannot be separated from public sentiment. For operators, it is a reminder that market growth does not erase reputational risk. And for critics and advocates alike, the survey captures something important: gambling in America may be widely tolerated, but it is still far from universally embraced.
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