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More than 50% of the world population gamble in one sport or the other and some are making good money while some are still hoping and praying for their luck to shine.

No, gambling is not a source of income.

Out of 100% people that are gambling, you can not see 5% among that are making money. Also as you may think you can make money from gambling, it can be the start of your problem gambling.

Just gamble for fun is what people will advise you to do. People that are addicted to gambling starts from this type of thinking.

That sounds unrealistic. You’re basically saying over 4 billion people in the world are gambling since that’s 50% of the total population. Without any data to back it up, that claim doesn’t hold. And I also don’t believe gambling is a “source of income,” because if gamblers were really defeating sportsbook, they would’ve stopped operating a long time ago.

this issue has been raised repeatedly over and over again in this board and i must tell you that gambling should not be treated as a source of income despite how people sees it as a profitable business. yeah some are making money while some are hopping an praying for luck to shine as you said, but it doesn't change the fact that loser are more than winners. inside the proclaimed %50 of the world population that gambles %49 are losers while the remaining %1 are expected to win, now tell me how gambling should be considered as source of income?

I don't think he's saying that it is a "source of crime" but rather "source of income." And on that note, I also don't agree as we all know that when you are in gambling, the more likely that will happen is that you will lose what you have. There's always no assurance if you will win or not in gambling because you are relying on luck especially if you are playing with those classic games. So if you are really smart, don't ever consider gambling as a source of your income. Unless, you are already a professional poker player or a long-time sportsbettor.

Your stats and estimation is wrong, not more than 10 percent makes money from gambling and betting combined. Remember it's not about winning now but what actually makes you a profitable gambler is the results you get in the long run. If a lot of people are making money from the sports book do you think they would still be in  business? It's a business thats running off people's losses.

thanks for the correction, i really meant source of income....


His post said 50% of the population are gambling, but it’s not about who actually makes money from it. It’s easy to find numbers on how many people gamble, but when it comes to how many really earn or make it a source of income, there’s no solid data available for that.

The some is actually small compared to the opposite( atleast from the onow datas ) but every gambler is likely  competing and hoping to be among the small percentage yet gambling is not a source of income and shouldn't  be treated as one IMHO
Even the total number gamblers  can't be accurate... there will be more but yeah,  it can be fairly  judged from the available data.

You don't give your opinion as fact without nothing to back it up as 50% of the world population gambling is a very absurd claim.
Gambling is not a source of income. It surely doesn't guarantee a steady and punctual payment and can't be classified as a source of income. It's that simple. Sadly, lots of people take gambling as a means to make lots of money and get rich.

Do not consider gambling to be a source of income cause it's simply not. Be guided so you don't fall down the rabbit hole in search of riches.

But despite that, it's hard to rely on it as a source of income. Majority of the gamblers are losing and that's why for me, if I start to use it as a source of income.
I'll make sure that I'll have that 70% and above accuracy rate of winning. Because I know that at most times, it won't be a perfect source of income.
It's a long discussion that even until now, there are people that think that it's a good source of income. You'll see many of us here gonna tell you that it's good as a way to get entertained instead.

Here we go again with same repetitive question questions that the answers is obviously easy to discover without Making too much efforts, gambling is know to be a risky thing and the results is always unpredictable and unrealistic so such thing can't be taken as a source of income, since a source of income is something that you profit or gain from on regular basis and not gambling on the possibility of gaining from it as gambling is.

If you win more often, regularly, and consistently, then it can be a good source of income.

If you lose often, then it can be a source of depression.

So, which choice do we make?
Or do we choose neither, just choose gambling for fun?

It all depends on our own decision-making, based on each person's situation, regarding the risks we take, how big, and how strong we are to do so. Clearly, gambling is high risk, can be very potential, but conversely, it can be very dangerous.

Isn't it obvious that you can't make a "regular" income thru gambling? Because for me that is the definition of source of income. That you have a regular job that you got paid bi-weekly and monthly. And with gambling, it's very hard to do that or it's impossible. Sure you might win one time, but it's hard to do that again and again and duplicate it. So there is no doubt that gambling can't be a source of income.

Unless you are a gambling operator, casino itself, or running a illegal den in your country wherein it can rake a lot of money. Or one time, you really hit big by winning the lottery and it did chance your life for the better.

If gambling were a source of income, then everyone in the world would prepare themselves to participate in gambling after their academic career or without an academic career. Every parent always urged their child to participate in gambling instead of studying. Moreover, if you calculate the profit and loss from gambling for 100 gamblers per month, you will see that most gamblers are in losses, so how can this be a source of income?

That "some making good money is" a tiny fraction compared to the vast numbers of people losing in gambling, all of us are trying to make it a source of income as a gambler. Still, very few have made it, and these very few are not even guaranteed to make a living out of it in the long term; soon, losses will start to stare them down.

Making a living in gambling as a gambler has long been a big puzzle that has not been solved or can’t ever be solved because the odds favour the house. If you want to have a chance of making a living in gambling, then be the house, but it’s not guaranteed, as the competition in this business is very stiff.

Out of the numerous number of persons that are involved in gambling, only very few of them have been successful through it. It is very difficult to find someone who has consistently been able to win gambling platforms that they are now sure enough to make it into a source of living or an income stream that is sure. It is a risky thing to do gambling like that because as a gambler, on days when you have not won, you will be a lot more frustrated and possibly depressed than someone who is just Gamblig for fun and just that thrill. There are many other sources of income, out of all of them gambling is not one of them.

Praying and gambling doesn't complement each other. Being religious and yet, you're a gambler only will have your pastor or religious leader have a sermon on you that it's not allowed to gamble and then you pray. And only those who are making good money do care if they're making money or not. But a gambler that's mostly into having fun will careless about it and that's why they're only going to do what they think is right and what makes them happy and that's gambling.

Seeing gambling as a profitable source of income is bad, in fact, you’re not suppose to see gambling as a source of income because the outcome is very unpredictable in nature. Those that still linger around gambling activities are mostly doing that because they hope to hit a jackpot one day even when they continue to face a lot of losses. The faith that they hit the jackpot one day passes overtime and they become addicted that they can’t live without gambling again. Don’t even see it as source of income and play for fun to avoid addiction.

I do not encourage anyone to see gambling as a source of income rather a place to make use of their spare time while waiting for whatever engagement. There are people today who still have this mentality of gambling to sustain their family knowing too well that things aren't constantly and it changes over the time.
For real gambling people should try as much as possible to regulates their activities while gambling this will help to culture and nurture minds or their overall thinking faculty.

Gambling for a casino owner is a source of income.  For employees of a casino, it is also a source of income.  For the game provider, it is definitely a source of income.  But for the player... it is debatable. 

Many will argue that gambling is not a source of income, but many will oppose it, and say winning in gambling is a kind of source of income, and hey, gambling winnings are taxable.  I am somewhat in the middle of this argument because I can see the point of both sides.  But the government considers gambling profits as part of income... so from that standpoint, it can be said as a source of income

It’s every gambler’s dream to make gambling their source of income, but unfortunately, only a genie can grant that wish; you can make a living in almost anything, but never in gambling, gambling means taking a chance no source of income is taking a chance if you work expect a profit, you can bet as much as you want or how long you can but it cannot guaranty even a small profit.
This is why experts have a strong warning to only gamble with money that you can afford to lose.

Well, it shouldn’t be, because we already know our chances of winning are pretty low. But still, some, if not a lot, treat gambling as another source of income. Sure, there’s always a chance, but like I said, that chance is small. That’s why you should only gamble what you can afford to lose and never treat it as a source of income. If you do, instead of making money, you’ll just end up chasing your losses, and the cycle goes on.

This makes sense. Because for me, the meaning of "source of income" is continuous income, like let's say every month there's a consistent income coming to you.
But in gambling, you can't guarantee it, sometimes you will lose sometimes win, and the amount is also not fixed and consistent.

It's like, when someone will ask you, what's your job? And you answer "gambling".

No matter how old people have been gambling, no matter how intelligent they are, no matter how much mathematical knowledge they possess, everyone should never look at gambling as a source of income. This is a serious mistake that no one should make. In gambling, the chances of winning are lower and the chances of losing are much higher.

So there's no point in deluding themselves and taking gambling too seriously, because they will only lose. It's better to simply view gambling as entertainment. If people want a source of income, then they should get a job or a business in the real world or even online. There are many businesses that people can do, as long as they don't gamble and think that this is a source of income. If they own the casinos, yes, this would be a source of income.

Absolutely NOT!

Some people manage make significant money occasionally and others also manage to maintain consistent short term winnings... but statistically, most players lose more than  win.... the house always designs your games to give them a long-term advantage.

I once even believed that in sports gambling it was possible to earn an income (in a very risky way) if I did a lot of research and dedicated enough time to analyzing the odds and betting on scenarios the house couldn't predict... but that was my illusion.

I dont think even the best poker player with a high level of mathematical knowledge, risk management and extreme discipline, can maintain a consistent long term winnings.

Agree with me... gambling is an entertainment, just like going to the movies or a concert. The only difference is that here you can get your money back, but that should never be your goal... so its best to set clear limits so as not to jeopardize your financial or social/family life.

I'm not entirely sure that 100% of all gamblers win, and the percentage that wins is around 50%. I suspect the percentage is higher for those who lose, perhaps 70/30. The odds of winning for players tend to be lower than those of the house, and the casino's goal is clearly to profit from the large number of gamblers.
As shown in the following image, the house's odds of winning are greater than those of the players.
https://talkimg.com/images/2025/08/21/UZMwQP.png

And where can we found the statistics that 50% of world population are gambling and most of them are making good amount of money? I think only the house and a handful of few percentage of gamblers make the most of it and the huge percentage of those who gambles are at loss. Gamble for the most isn't always 50/50, most of it leans towards the house side, it's way lower than that especially if you have been gambling for years or in the long term.

It's a source of entertainment not income and can't be rely on but for gambling shop owners and casino owners, are the ones making money from gambling.
Nowadays most jobless persons has turned gambling from fun to source of income in other to make livelihood from it, but yet it still remains what it is because you cannot change the nature of gambling from how it has being from ages, but rather endangering their lives and present financial condition.

Sorry but I must start by pointing out to you that your post is incomplete, and if you must succeed on this forum which I believe is your goal, you must learn not to rush when writing a post, always calm down and write a good and well detailed post, and that thing you are looking to achieve will come easily with time.

Away from the above and back to what the subject of this thread is about, some may see or consider or treat gambling as a source of income, but this is absolutely not proper and should not be no matter how much the person is making from gambling.

Gambling is simply a gaming adventure where you play various type of games to either lose or win, when you win, you make money, and when you lose, you lose money, there is never any form of guarantee that one must make money from gambling on daily basis, doesn't matter how good the gambler has become, every one at a time goes through series of loses, so it's always best to having a reliable source of income and never treat gambling as such.

Gambling is not a source of income. There might be gamblers who are fortunate and able to win a huge amount that changed their lives, but on the other side, many gamblers are also losing their money and worst became addicted.

That being said, gambling should not be treated as a source of income. Because luck is still a major factor to win therefore don't rely in gambling to earn money.

Gambling is primarily for entertainment, not as a way to make money or as a way to get rich quick. Gambling should not be seen as a part of our lives. We should gamble with money we can afford to lose so that we don't get into financial trouble. To manage our gambling properly, we need to set aside time and money for ourselves and make it a habit to take time off after repeated wins. We should not gamble repeatedly to win back lost money due to emotion or greed. It is wise to set aside an emergency fund from our necessary funds and to manage our gambling properly with self-control.

Your data is wrong. Where did that 50% even come from? If half the world was gambling we’d see the damage everywhere. In our country alone, imagine 50% into gambling. The poor are a huge part of the population, poverty would shoot up.

People might think gambling can be a source of income. Reality says no. The house has the edge, most players bleed slowly. If you’ve got real numbers, post them. Otherwise that 50% looks like a wild guess.

I'm not sure where that statistics came from but to answer your question. No definitely not, not unless you're a gambling site owner definitely you'll be able to make an income out of it. But for general players like us, only few people managed to make it as a source of income due to their skills and knowledge about certain sports, though also a few of the people won really good amount of profit in slots that let them win thousands or hundred thousand from their small bankroll.

But just to let you know, this kind of instances is unlikely to happen since the chance of you or me winning a jackpot is less than 1%.

TBH, gambling is not a source of income in anyway, let's be realistic here. Yes people do think it’s an easy way to make money, but the truth is about 95% of gamblers end up losing more than they win... The few who sometimes hit it big get that occasionally and it is not the norms..   Counting on luck to secure your finances is so funny and it rarely works...
And relying on gambling for money is dangerous because it encourages you risking frequently..  If someone wants real source of income, they need to focus on things they can control, not on gambling and rolling the dice and praying that fortune finally shows up..

You cannot make gambling a source of income. Gambling does not provide a guaranteed chance of winning for you, anyone can gamble, but it is impossible to ensure that all gamblers will win. Your gambling can only go on when you have a source of income to fund it. This only applies to gamblers, while for gambling business operators, of course, this business can be very profitable for them.

It is not possible to earn money by gambling, those who enter the game of gambling to earn money by gambling have basically shown signs of addiction. People will advise you to gamble for fun but if you enter the game of gambling for the purpose of income then it will be a sign of addiction for you. Because very few people can earn money from gambling, and most people face losses in gambling, I have heard many cries and seen troubles in the world just for gambling.
There are still many families who have ruined their families by gambling, so gambling cannot be the purpose of earning income.

Of course, gambling is not a way to make money, as most people lose a lot of money while gambling because the house always has an edge in winning the game.
And only a small percentage of gamblers make a lot of money from gambling, while the majority lose a lot of money. So, do you still consider gambling a way to make money?
And those who can change their lives through gambling because they play smart can control themselves so they don't keep playing after a few losses and stop when they win. They play consciously, so they can control the game, and not the game controlling them. And this isn't easy because most gamblers can't control themselves and become addicted, which leads to ruin.

Without been told you are surpose to know that gambling is not and can never be a source of income, having such mindset alone is  very bad because that is what triggered the multiple gambling addiction we are having in the society.

Gambling was made for the purpose of having fun, some kind of entertainment (casino, sports betting etc) that can ease us up our stress when we are depressed or been stressed out, but when you start seeing it the other way round, you automatically start bringing problems of addiction to your self which you wouldn't find it funny at all.

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Gambling is for fun purposes and not a source of making money so the earlier you know this the better for you.

Gambling can never be a way of earning. We can only call a job a way of earning when we can earn a long-term, safe, regular and risk-free livelihood from it.
Gambling can never provide financial security, it is not possible to earn money regularly from here and is it the most risky thing to earn money from here. In most cases, gamblers become so addicted to gambling that they keep losing their money. Because while playing it, they lose control over themselves at some point and in the addiction of winning more than once in gambling, they bring their own losses.
Although gambling gives the wrong idea of earning a lot of money quickly, it mostly harms gamblers.

Proof? Is there any proof that this is happening? Or it's just a random words coming through your mouth without any evidence whatsoever.

Gambling CAN be a good way or making money ONLY if you're lucky consecutively. The problem is, not all gamblers are experiencing that thing so in short, it can't be a STABLE source of income. It's very risky obviously if you rely your income on gambling, and I don't think there's anybody here that solely rely on gambling as their source of income. For sure those who are making money out of gambling has a Plan B just in case things go against them.

I always believe that gambling is a for of entertainment only, and not a way to make money. Sure, you can make money, but it isn't consistent enough for a gambler to consider it as a source of income.

Gambling is a source of income for the gambling industry. For gamblers, the source of income is mainly their wages from their place of work. Of course, there are exceptions; few gamblers can win big, but these are exceptions, not a mass phenomenon. If it were otherwise, the entire gambling industry would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Gambling is a source of income when someone is ready to lose money on a distance to rare profit. There are still casinos that have faucets, so why not consider it as a source of a tiny income? In addition, some casinos send emails with free crypto to redeem to make gambler return (even though he hasnt made a deposit) - an unstable income :D Some casinos have investment programs - deposit, take profit, maybe gamble from time to time. In all other outcomes, gambling isnt a source of income.

No, gambling can never be a source of income.  If a person thinks gambling is the only source of income, then I would say his mentality has problems. However, more than 50 percent of the world's world can consider gambling and gambling as a source. However, even if many can make good money, everything can be seen once in calculation.  Losing money is much higher than that. That is why you should find alternative roads, not to make money by gambling.  Then it will be easy to make money in a halal way instead of losing a person and will be happy. It will not have any problems.

Yes but this is a source of income for 2-5% of players playing. I have mentioned many times that there is a bookmaker that is charging even 40% on each win...
But people are still gambling hard there! It's clear that they have a strong advantage (both in technology and insights).

If you are not able to compete with them, with proper software and / or expertise on a match, you will just lose money with gambling.
In this case I am talking only about sport gambling. With casino I am not expecting more than 1% of players to be in profit.

There is a large population in the world, among which there are people involved in gambling in various ways. Especially in the present time, gambling platforms have gained a lot of popularity and many young people are getting more attention for gambling. There are some people who see gambling as their main source of income and basically they have become addicted to gambling. We know that gambling addiction is very bad and it puts a person in a state of mental distress. The way gambling platforms are currently promoting on social media, online casinos are becoming more popular and people's attention is more here. If this continues, the popularity of gambling will increase in every country in the world and it can cause a lot of harm for the next generation.

People indeed can making money from gambling even some of them have experience won big amount of money or win the jackpot but the most problem is earn money from gambling cannot be steady because there are times when you are unlucky and lose money this condition make gambling cannot be used as source of income especially for the gamblers

But might be a little different to the casinos owner that they have a chance to make gambling as source of income because they can earn money from the players but build good reputation casino and gets loyal players also not easy especially currently the development of online casino is very rapid and for almost everyday we have seen there is new casino announced so it's hard to compete to with other competitor in this industry

That shouldn't be the case IMO. Unless you are a professional player, the majority of your net worth is in there. Some people are doing it just because they can, but I don't think it's a good idea. I might as well do it in trading. The unpredictability is hard to control, and the emotions that people experience make it even harder. It's a challenge.

You can make it a source of income if you want but this is not for me, because I have learn to accept that gambling can't become my source of income, I can often make money through gambling, maybe once in a month or more but it's not a reliable way to make money, if you are looking for more than money making then you can get fun in return. I am not trying to scare you but it's a bad idea if you plan to make gambling your source of income, there is no way to know if you will be one of the lucky ones or the other but it's certain that losses will happen more often than winning.

If you own the casino, sure!

It will not be easy to get the accurate number of gamblers in the world. But most of the statistics online pointed out that 26% of the world's population has gambled.

No doubt some people are making money from gambling but the population is few. Only a few people are lucky enough to hit the jackpot. The number of people who have experienced long losing streaks is far higher than people who have won big.  

It is better not to see gambling as a source of income because the outcomes are unpredictable.  

It can be but as Charles-Tim has commented not even 5% of sports bettors are profitable long term. For those who are profitable, it is a source of income, which can be exclusive if they dedicate themselves solely to it, or an extra income, which is more common, if they have a job and sports betting is an addition, or they are professional sports bettors who have other streams of income such as YouTube channels, coaching, or others.

It's true that some people get lucky, but most lose more than they win. Relying on luck as a plan for income is not wise.

I don't think we have up to 50% of the world's population as gamblers, I don't know how you arrive at such conclusion, maybe you can add a link to any research done in such area.

Gambling can be a source of income depending on which side of it you scale you fall into; if you own a casino or a shop, then you are have a guarantee that gambling can be a source of income. But if you are just a regular player, then there is no guarantee that gambling will be a source of income for you.

Gambling is a source of income for the casino, not the player. The few people who manage to win something big, may have already lost a lot more so the win does not really count as a win, not even a break even.

The casinos and its associated employees, investors and affiliates are running this like a 9x5 job and hence getting paid well.

So you can start building your own casino if you are willing to take the risk. The long term outcome is always good.

I don't think that you have a verified statistics to prove what you said, neither do I but I seriously doubt that you are correct, I know that majority of the adults in the world don't gamble.

Anybody that takes gambling as a source of income will most likely become addicted to it because fact is that they have a higher chances of losing their money than winning. Gambling wins are by luck and it will be unreasonable for anybody to depend on it to take care of their financial responsibilities. Most people are not making profit in gambling, when they win they will continue to gamble and lose everything back to the casinos so it doesn't make any sense. The best mentality to gamble is to see it as fun, if you win take it but if you lose don't chase loses, move on them try another time.

I don't know with the percentage so I am not sure about it. It needs more research to know the exact percentage numbers of the world population gamble in one sport. We can only guess without knowing the truth.

Making money from gambling will be a dream for many people. They should realize that will not be easy achieving their goal because it will depend on their luck to win the match. While their luck will not always besides them. It is better they search for the other ways to make money.

Gambling is not a source of income and can never be one, because gambling is a game of luck and should only be played a fun or entertainment. Majority of people that gamble don't make money from it, so it can never be a source of income. You only get addicted to gambling if you see it as a source of income, because it make you play all the time without control,  hoping to win the next bet.
In 100% of gamblers, I can boldly say that it's less that 10% of them that really make money from it, so what happens to the remaining 90% of gamblers. You can argue that entrepreneurs take risk just like gamblers, so why can't it be a source of income.  We need to realize that an entrepreneur only take calculated risk which I think is not the same with gambling.

Gambling is for entertainment and not a business or a job. It's based on luck which makes the chance of you winning your bet very slim. If you need a source of income, you should go get a job to provide for your needs. Gambling will take the little that you have and if you continue chasing your losses, you might become addicted. However, a lot of gamblers think that gambling is a means to double their money.

It can be, if you are the owner of the casino. If you are the player, very unlikely. Some players claim they make a living out of gambling as a player but that might be true for some people you gotta understand that not everyone can achieve this status because if they were able to do it, casinos would go bankrupt.

So instead of dreaming getting rich from gambling, you need to focus on your business/job and try to increase your income there. Make bets only to get relaxed.

If you have enough capital and dedication, you can try to start a casino business too but I assure you it won’t be easy.

Some people that won may even be lying. Some only do it for business, to get more people to subscribe with them and make money from them. The genuine ones that make money are very few while most gamblers are losing. Yes, to rely on luck in something that most people are losing is not wise at all. Gambling is not a means of making money, it is just for fun purposes.

Where did you get this 50% number or is it entirely made up? Would be nice to have a reference or a source when you make such claims. I don't believe that figure is true, it will be high but I likely to be that high. Also, what are you defining as gambling? Someone who is playing every day or just somebody that might have bought one lottery ticket in the last year? If you want to make a career out of it you need to find a form of gambling where you can gain an edge long term - if you have the intelligence, patience and skill. It's not an easy task because there are people who scrape a profit consistently off the fish at every level. You're probably going to lose short/medium term and have to constantly reevaluate yourself to close down your weaknesses.

According to what I have seen online before, the percentage of gamblers in the world is around 25% which is half of what the OP posted and not 50%. Nearly all children will not be there while women that are likely gambling are not really many compared to men. Also old people are not many that are gambling. Also many countries like the Muslim countries forbids gambling which will make most of people in such countries not to be gambling.

No I won't consider gambling as a source of income. We can say something is a source of income when you are sure that the income you intend getting from there is guaranteed, and you don't know the intervals that such money will come, if it will ever happen. I haven't seen where anyone said their source of income is gambling. Or where someone said his/her occupation is gambling, so how can it be a source of income? Gambling is just a trial something, if you are lucky you get something from it periodically, and most times nothing.

Gambling CAN BE a source of income, but just a side hustle. you cant make it as your primary source as you will hit below zero and that is for sure.
As for me now, i do earn from online casinos, using the forum and it is a good amount to earn. joining also their contest is good.

Another way to earn from gambling is to advertise them or be an vlogger/influencer and get paid by them.

One of the worst things you can do to yourself is to make yourself believe that you can make gambling a source of income. Gambling is not a source, it is at most a drain of income.

So think of gambling as purely for entertainment and make a budget with win/lose limits, which if reached, you stop gambling (at least for the day).

The math behind gambling will now allow you to make it a reliable source of income.

An activity that was intended for fun that is highly luck dependent cannot be reasonably considered a source of income, for the fact that it has to be luck dependent makes it risky to be considered a source of income. You cannot tell when you will be lucky and when you will not, there are times you can attempt several trials for days and you will not be lucky enough to win and for something you consider a job opportunity, it's such a bad precedence that will keep you stranded.

Gambl should never be considered a job opportunity neither should it be regarded s a dependable source of money rather it can be fairly considered a side activity that can be rewarding on a lucky day but not such that you will have to depend or relay on for except for entertainment but never for earning as you may get disappointed often than your expectations will be met.