Illinois Ranks As 9th Most Gambling-Addicted State

Illinois is the ninth most gambling-addicted state, according to a study by a personal finance website. The state also is tied with five others in the country for most gambling-related arrests, the WalletHub study states.

To come up with its findings, WalletHub used 19 metrics, ranging from the amount of illegal gambling to per capita lottery ticket sales, to compare all 50 states and determine where excessive gambling is big. The website's study also looked at the number of adults in each suffering from gambling disroders.

In the study, Illinois had an overall score of 39.57. It ranked 25th when it came to gambling friendliess, a category that included the amount of casinos and gaming machines and other factors. The state was ranked third in the gambling and treatment category, which included the number of adults with gambling, as well as the number of gambling counselors available.

Not surprisingly, Nevada was ranked No. 1 with a score of 62.43. South Dakota, Montana, Mississippi and Louisiana rounded out the top five, respectively.

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, around 1 percent to 3 percent of all U.S. adults suffer from a gambling disorder. The Economist reports that U.S.consumers lose more than $100 billion per year in gambling losses, and the average debt of a male gambling addict is between $55,000 and $90,000, according to Debt.org.

Go to WalletHub for the complete list.

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