A state-commissioned survey in Arizona found that about one in five adults aged 21 and over experienced some level of gambling-related harm, a share the authors said translated to more than 1 million people. The report, completed in June, also estimated that about 4% of Arizona adults likely meet diagnostic criteria for a gambling disorder, while about 18% fell into a moderate- to high-risk category on the Problem Gambling Severity Index.
The FY2025-26 Arizona Adult Gambling Survey was fielded in December 2025 for the Department of Gaming’s Division of Problem Gambling and was designed as a three-year follow-up to the FY2022-23 survey. It used a weighted sample intended to represent the state’s adult population, and the analysis was limited to respondents aged 21 and older, so it did not capture possible harm among younger people.
The report says the survey is meant to track gambling participation, harm, public awareness of services, attitudes and emerging trends over time, using the 9-item Problem Gambling Severity Index as its main screening tool. It also warns against treating survey results as perfectly precise measurements, saying they are better used to understand broad trends and patterns.
Overall gambling participation remained high but stable. The report says 84% of Arizona adults had gambled in the past 12 months, comparable with the earlier survey, even as the share gambling weekly or more often rose from 25% to 30%.
Sports wagering was a notable part of the picture. The report says sports betting participation rose by 22% from FY2022-23, while 22% of Arizonans said they had used online or app-based sports wagering and cryptocurrency-related activities were up by 21%.
Risk was concentrated among younger adults and among people who gamble more often, bet on sports, or use several forms of gambling, especially online and app-based play. The report also found strong links between gambling-related harm and mental health conditions, substance use, gaming and excessive internet use.
The survey suggests the effects extend beyond the gambler. Sixteen percent of respondents said they had been personally negatively affected by the gambling behaviour of a friend, family member, coworker or someone else they knew, and the article notes that this figure does not include minors harmed by another person’s gambling.
Awareness of Arizona’s 1-800-NEXT-STEP helpline rose by 40% from FY2022-23, with gains through digital and social media even as traditional media awareness declined. GamblingHarm.org also said Arizona had recently launched a no-cost peer gambling support program, and pointed readers worried about their own or someone else’s gambling to the state helpline.
