Florida ranks top ten in states that profit from ‘legalized’ sin

Recently, Orlando was outted as the top city for infidelity.Now, it seems the whole state is on the naughty list - Florida is in the top ten states that make money from ‘legalized’ sin.

The Orlando Business Journal reports that sin is represented in numbers through the state taxes on tobacco, alcohol and casinos, as well as proceeds from state-controlled liquor stores and state lotteries.

The OBJ says that Grant Suneson from 24/7 Wall St., who led the analysis of data from the Census Bureau's State Government Finances report, the American Gaming Association's "State of the States" 2017 and 2016 report, the Tax Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to him, "Florida is one of just six states in which at least 80% of residents are 18 or older — meaning a relatively large share of residents can use tobacco, play the lottery, or indulge in other acts that feed into the sin tax. The lottery accounts for nearly half of all sin tax revenue in Florida — about $1.7 billion, which is the third highest total among all states.”

"Floridians tend not to indulge, or overindulge, in some other behaviors covered by sin taxes. Florida’s adult smoking rate of 15.5% is lower than the U.S. rate of 17%. The state also has a lower share of adults who drink excessively at 17.5%, compared to 18% of adults nationwide."

The top 10 states ranked by percentage of economic gain from sin-related trades are:

1. Rhode Island:

% Total revenue from sin: 10.4%

Revenue from sin: $856.3 million

Most profitable contributor: The lottery

2. West Virginia:

% Total revenue from sin: 6.9%

Revenue from sin: $953.1 million

Most profitable contributor: The lottery

3. Nevada:

% Total revenue from sin: 6.7%

Revenue from sin: $1.1 billion