Penn State Researchers Find Online Gambling Participation Jumped 10 Percent
Posted on: January 23, 2026, 09:28h.
Last updated on: January 23, 2026, 09:40h.
- Online gambling and sports betting continue to find favor in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvanians are gambling online at unprecedented levels, Penn State reports
New research from Penn State University finds that Pennsylvanians are gambling online at record rates.
The 2025 “Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment: Online Gambling Report” is an annual review of the commonwealth’s iGaming and online sports betting markets. Funding for the study, which is conducted by Penn State’s Criminal Justice Research Center, comes from state taxes on interactive gaming licensees.
The 2025 assessment found that up to 30% of Pennsylvania adults engaged in some form of online gambling last year. That’s up 10% from the prior year, and marks an all-time high for online gambling participation.
The surge in participation led to a spike in the number of calls to the state’s 1-800-GAMBLER helpline regarding problematic online play. The Penn State report concluded that between 2.5% and 6.4% of all Pennsylvanians “may be a problem gambler.”
The interactive gaming assessment surveyed 3,500 Pennsylvania residents.
Record Play
This week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed that 2025 iGaming revenue reached a record $2.77 billion, a 27% gain from 2024. iGaming includes money from online slots and interactive table games, plus poker.
Along with iGaming, sports bettors in Pennsylvania lost $602.5 million last year, with the bulk of the action being facilitated online. The Penn State report found that sports betting, for a fifth consecutive year, was the most popular online gambling format.
In-person gambling is also on the rise in Pennsylvania, with offline participation increasing from 56% in 2024 to 69% last year. Playing the lottery was the most popular offline gambling format, with casinos next.
Penn State reported that individuals who participate in both online and offline gambling are most susceptible to problem play.
This report lends further support to the enhanced risk of the combination of online and offline gambling, and importantly, that this combination of gambling was predictive of being classified as a problem gambler,” the report summarized.
Adding to the worry is that the Penn State survey found that more than 10% of Pennsylvania adults gambled last year on websites not regulated by the PGCB, which mandates its licensees to offer responsible gaming tools.
The PGCB testified last month that prediction market websites have led to a rise in problem gambling among young people. The PGCB has additionally asked the legislature in Harrisburg to pass legislation outlawing controversial online sweepstakes casinos.
Study Helps Treatment Research
The goal of the annual iGaming assessment, researchers say, is to promote better problem gambling treatment in the years ahead.
Knowing what the current online gambling trends are in Pennsylvania will assist the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in our work to assess and address how gambling behaviors impact compulsive and problem gambling within the Commonwealth,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones.
“It will also help to guide our work as we expand DDAP’s gambling services to include case management supports for the very first time. This will mean any individual in Pennsylvania who struggles with problem gambling behaviors can call 1-800-GAMBLER and receive case management and outpatient treatment services, like help with financial counseling, childcare, medical assistance, employment, or other non-treatment needs,” Davis-Jones explained.
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