Wow, its almost as if gambling companies were for-profit. (Sorry, couldn't resist)
In other news, it is important to drink water, politicians lie, and smoking can be bad for your health. (Sorry, again, couldn't resist)
Total amount spent: not every dollar spent on gambling is lost – that’s the whole risk-reward appeal. The same report tallied our national gambling losses at just under $24 billion. Per person that’s more than $1,250 lost to gambling every year. We can break these losses down into:
$3.33 billion on racing ($175 per person)
$19.4 billion on gaming ($1,020 per person)
$1.6 billion on sports betting ($56 per person)
So the average man and woman over 18 in this country is losing $1,250 per year just on gambling.
Then to find out it's stacked against you and you are locked out and can't bet with them if you are successful at winning...