Utah, a state with no legal gambling, has the highest bankruptcy rates in the region, while Montana and South Dakota area states that offer the most legal gambling had the lowest rate of bankruptcies per capita.
In 2002, the national bankruptcy rate was 510 per 100,000. Utah's rate was 834 per 100,000. Montana and South Dakota, which have widely available limited stakes gambling, had bankruptcy rates of 426 and 336 respectively.
Even Wyoming, with almost no legal gambling (reservation bingo) had a rate of 455 bankruptcies per 100,000, and Idaho, with about 11 percent as much gambling as Montana had a rate of 603.
Apparently, there is little or no relationship between gaming availability and bankruptcy rates.
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Montana has relatively low bankruptcy rates and much lower than some states that offer no gambling at all such as Utah. To say gambling causes higher rates of bankruptcy is contradicted by the facts.
Source: Special Reports II,
published and distributed to 180,000 households state-wide, winter 2002 by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.