The Majority of Pennsylvania Problem Gambling Cases Occur in Philadelphia County
138
Even though Pennsylvania has a thriving gaming industry, Philadelphia may be the hub of gambling in the state. According to data from the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), Philadelphia had the highest number of calls related to problem gambling out of all Pennsylvania counties.
Rich and passionate about sports, Philadelphia is a city of fans. It has many collegiate programs in addition to five professional teams.
Philadelphia gets the greatest share of funding allocated to prevention and treatment in an effort to address the higher-than-average prevalence of problem gambling. Philadelphia residents also have access to casino self-exclusion in PA, which allows players to control their gambling addiction.
Philadelphia is included in the DDAP study as having the most problem gambling occurrences.
In FY 2022/2023, Pennsylvania contributed a record $8.3 million to the Compulsive and Problem Gambling Treatment Fund (CPGT). The state has a lot of gambling options available, including:
- 21 online casinos;
- 13 online sportsbooks;
- 17 retail casinos.
It should come as no surprise that Philadelphia, the state’s biggest city, recorded the highest number of problem gambling cases during the previous fiscal year. However, there were a lot of calls about problem gambling from even the neighboring counties. The top five are as follows:
- Philadelphia: 485;
- Allegheny: 305;
- Montgomery: 124;
- Bucks: 98;
- Delaware: 91.
Every person in the state who has reached the legal gambling age of 21 has access to every online gambling resource. But Philadelphia has the largest share of casinos available. The following casinos are located in the counties of Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia:
- Rivers Casino Philadelphia (Philadelphia);
- Valley Forge Casino (Montgomery);
- Harrah’s Philadelphia (Delaware);
- Live! Casino Philadelphia (Philadelphia);
- Parx Casino Bensalem (Bucks).
In addition to these venues, the Commonwealth Court overturned an earlier ruling by the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments, allowing locals to now gamble on sports at Chickie’s and Pete’s in South Philadelphia.
