ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Twenty-two percent of Americans, including 48% of men 18 to 49 years old, have an account with at least one online sportsbook, according to a new poll of residents released today by the Siena College Research Institute (SCRI) and St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication.
Bettors overwhelmingly say placing wagers on online sportsbooks is fun and exciting, makes them more interested in the games, stimulates conversations with friends and that they think they can make money.
But 52% have “chased” a bet — betting an increased amount in hopes of getting money back after a loss — 37% have felt ashamed after losing, and 20% have lost an amount that resulted in having trouble meeting financial obligations.
One-third of online sports gamblers know someone who has, or had, a problem with online betting but only 9% of bettors have ever called a problem gambling helpline or sought other help to control gambling behaviors.
“Online sports betting is everywhere. Nearly 60% of Americans have often seen the ads and while over one in five have an active account, another 5% of Americans have an account that they no longer use,” said Don Levy, SCRI’s director.
“Bettors, overwhelmingly young men, say online betting is fun, interesting and exciting and 54% of them place bets at least once or twice a week. Nearly 80% benefitted from promotions in which they were awarded money for participation and while most think they can make money gambling, only 30% say in hindsight they’ve won more than lost.”
A majority of Americans (50-34%) agree that online sports betting should be legal in all 50 states. However, by 65-22% they also agree that online sports betting will end up creating compulsive gamblers that will cause pain to them and their families and, by 48-35%, they think it will corrupt organized sports.
A small plurality (39-33%) say that the tax revenue generated by online sports betting benefits taxpayers. A majority (58-28%) call on the federal government to aggressively regulate online sports betting to specifically protect customers from compulsive gambling.
The SAFE BET Act — a specific legislative proposal that would prohibit ads for sportsbooks during live events, require sportsbooks to place limits on the deposits bettors can make, and ban the usage of AI by sportsbooks to track user’s behavior — is supported by 63-16%.
“Online sports betting has become widespread and a majority of Americans endorse it being legal,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication. “But with 78% saying that any smartphone app that lets people drain their bank accounts in one evening is a bad idea, the call for federal regulation is loud and clear.”
“A plurality of Americans and a large majority of online bettors say that if you have a system to control your betting, online sports betting is not dangerous,” Chimbel said. “While overall respondents are split as to whether online sportsbooks are doing a good job of monitoring and responding to the dangers of compulsive gambling, two-thirds of those with accounts think they are doing a good job. Half of bettors say that they do use features online designed to help users bet responsibly.”
Americans tend to oppose the way gambling commentary has become part of sports broadcasting, Levy said.
“By 53-26% they say that sports commentators offering remarks on sports gambling and potential bets during live games is bad for sports and by 47-28% they say AI-powered predictions on the outcomes of sporting events being made available to fans during the live games is also bad for sports,” Levy said.
Additionally, 73% of bettors like to participate in prop bets — bets made on small events that don’t affect the outcome of a game, such as a player making a certain number of shots or who will score first. Of concern, a majority (60-21%) agree that prop bets open individual college student athletes to potentially harmful public pressures.
In-depth details on the survey are available online at sbu.edu.
