82% of Uruguayans have already gambled, and the physical channel dominates
In Montevideo, almost no one gambles every day: barely 1 percent of bettors. In the interior of the country, this proportion rises to 11 percent. This is one of the most striking differences revealed by the Citizen Perception Survey on Games of Chance and Betting, conducted by the consultancy Usina, with a sample of 500 representative cases surveyed from August 21 to 24, 2026.
The starting point is a very widespread market. Eight out of ten Uruguayan adults, 82 percent, have gambled at some point in their lives, with slightly more prevalence among men (86 percent) than women (78 percent), and an experience that increases with age, peaking at 88 percent in the 45 to 59 age group. Frequency, however, is low for a large part of the public: 39 percent gamble sporadically and go half a year or more without betting again.
Physical channels still dominate. 68 percent of those who gamble do so only through in-person channels, online accounts for 12 percent, and a combination of both adds another 8 percent. Age dictates digital adoption: the age group most inclined towards online platforms is 30 to 44 years old, where 21 percent choose them, and from age 60 onwards, 82 percent gamble in person. The combined use of channels is more prominent in lower socioeconomic levels.
Regarding risk, the overall picture is contained but not uniform. Eighty-three out of every hundred gamblers say they have not wagered more money than they could afford in the last year, and 93 percent deny having gone into debt to sustain the activity. Exposure is concentrated among younger individuals and more vulnerable sectors: among 18 to 29-year-olds, 12 percent admit to betting with some regularity more than they can afford, and 13 percent admit to having increased amounts to maintain the same feeling of reward. Borrowing to finance gambling rises to 12 percent in lower-income households and is zero in higher strata, and 3 percent of the total stopped paying household expenses to gamble.
The perception of legality is high. Nine out of ten gamblers believe that what is offered around them is authorized. Doubts about whether an offer is legal or not increase, however, in the 18 to 29 age group, where it rises to 11 percent, and among lower-income sectors, where it stands at 8 percent.
In Uruguay, gambling is state-controlled or operated under state concession: lotteries, quinielas, and sports betting fall under the National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas, and casinos are managed by the General Directorate of Casinos or private concessionaires. The country does not grant licenses to private online gambling operators, which explains both the prominence of the in-person channel and the importance for players to distinguish legal offerings from those coming from abroad without authorization.
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