Greyhound Gambling at Lowest Level in 30 Years

Flak lives with his adopted family in Texas

This week, the Association of Racing Commissioners International released its 2013 Statistical Summary, which reports the amount gambled on greyhound races nationwide from all sources. ARCI is the only reference for this valuable information.

In 2013, a total of $633.3 million was bet on dog races in the United States. Most of this money is returned to gamblers in winnings, with the rest split between track owners and greyhound breeders. Dog track gambling fell by 4.8% over the previous year, and has now declined by 82% since 1991, when the industry economically peaked.

This is the lowest amount bet on greyhound racing in at least thirty years, and further proof that this cruel industry is dying.

It's also clear that GREY2K USA is having a powerful impact on the dog racing industry. In the twelve years since we formed, the rate of industry decline has more than doubled (8.8% annually) compared to the previous dozen years. In fact, gambling on dog racing has dropped by 68%, and nearly thirty tracks have closed or ended live racing, since our formation in 2001.

We are winning the fight to end greyhound racing, against a cruel industry that refuses to change. Now is the time to double down on our advocacy efforts, and continue moving toward the day when dog racing ends completely.