This study by Henry Lesieur from the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences found that pathological and problem gamblers account for an average of 30.4 percent of total gambling expenditures in the four U.S. states and three Canadian provinces he examined (the low was 22.6 percent, the high was 41.2 percent in Louisiana). The study identified which games were associated with problematic play and identified “video machines” (as opposed to old-style slots) in that group. Lesieur concluded: “When a state decides to shift from lotto to instant or scratch lottery tickets to video machines as a revenue-raising measure, it is taking a greater and greater percentage of money from problem gamblers.”
“They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket— but None of It Was Real” | Wall Street Journal
June 22, 2026
By Katherine Long, Caitlin Ostroff, Neil Mehta and Brenna T. Smith “The prediction market has flooded social media with deceptive