Daily Finance – The casino industry commands $37 billion in annual revenue. As far as competitive pastimes go, Americans spend more money on gambling than we do on professional sports. And if it’s the rush that’s the draw, there’s no competition: We shell out $9 billion more on gambling than we spend on coffee and video games combined each year.
But when you dig into the demographics of gambling, a troubling trend emerges.
Among senior citizens, gambling is a primary social outlet — more so than outings to museums, libraries, and zoos, according to one survey of activity directors from senior centers, assisted-care retirement centers, nursing homes, and church groups.
Casino visitation rates among the elderly are surprisingly high, with 28 percent of people aged 65 and older reporting having gone to a casino in 2012, and and 36 percent of those between ages 50 and 64 report having done so, according to the American Gaming Association’s 2013 Survey of Casino Entertainment. And University of Pennsylvania researcher David Oslin told Psychology Today that his research revealed that 70 percent of those 65 or older said they had gambled in the previous year — with nearly 10 percent admitting to gambling away more than they could afford to lose.
