A rising number of Americans now see legal sports betting as detrimental to both sports and society, according to new research.
Key Takeaways
- 43% of U.S. adults surveyed see sports betting as bad for society.
- 22% of Americans have bet money on sports in the past year.
- Sports betting is now legal in 39 states and D.C.
Americans increasingly see sports betting as a bad thing, according to a new study published by the Pew Research Center.
Analysts surveyed U.S. adults from a range of demographics, gathering data on public sentiment towards sports betting to explore the impact the recent expansion of legal sports betting has had across the country.
Researchers spoke to 9,916 U.S. adults as part of the survey, completing the research in July and August this year.
Nearly half of Americans now view sports betting negatively
The study revealed that 43% of U.S. adults see sports betting as bad for society. In 2022, 34% expressed the same opinion. Similarly, this year’s study showed a rise in the number of Americans who see it as bad for sports (up to 40% from 33% in 2022).
Half of respondents said that they felt sports betting was neither bad nor good for society. When asked about its impact on sports, 42% felt it was neither bad nor good.
There was a slight increase in the number of respondents viewing sports betting as a positive thing for sports. The study showed that 17% of Americans feel it’s a good thing, that’s up from 16% in 2022. Just 7% of those surveyed felt it was good for society, however.
Growth of sports betting driven by online platforms
Legal sports betting has exploded in the U.S. over the last few years. By Dec. 1, when Missouri launches its legal sports betting, it’ll be legal in 39 states, as well as D.C.
The rise of commercial sports betting seen over the past three years hasn’t dramatically increased the number of Americans betting, though. In fact, according to this research, 22% of Americans bet money on sports in the past year. That’s not a huge difference from the 19% recorded in 2022.
Unsurprisingly, that small uptick in Americans betting on sports has come entirely from online betting. In 2022, 6% of adults bet on sports online. Now, one in 10 are doing so. Pew Research Center’s data on casinos, racetracks, and betting kiosks showed no change in behavior since 2022.
Awareness of legal sports betting has risen since 2022, which makes sense given the number of campaigns and betting-related advertisements Americans are now exposed to in their day-to-day lives.
In 2022, just over half (56%) of Americans said they’d read a lot or a little about the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the U.S. That figure now stands at 63%.
Gen Z views sports betting as harmful but bets more than older groups
Researchers looked into whether opinion about sports betting differed across a range of demographic groups. Data revealed that the trend towards viewing sports betting in a more negative light in 2025 held firm regardless of gender, age, income, and political leaning.
Younger demographics were found to be more likely to have changed their stance on sports betting in the last three years, though.
In 2022, 22% of men under the age of 30 thought sports betting was harmful for society. By the time this year’s study closed, 47% of the same age group had begun to view it negatively. Similarly, there was a marked rise in the number of younger women (under 30) viewing sports betting as bad for society (up to 35%, from 25% in 2022).
Let’s not forget that younger demographics are, on the whole, more likely to engage in online gaming than older ones. So this shift in opinion comes from a group amongst which online sports betting is on the rise.
The survey found that almost a third (31%) of Americans under the age of 30 had placed a bet on sports in the last year, showing that despite a rise in the number of young people viewing sports betting as harmful, this is the demographic that continues to be most likely to place a bet on sports.
As the age of demographics in the study rose, the likelihood that respondents would have bet on sports over the last year dropped. Of the 30-49 year olds surveyed, 26% had done so. The figure fell again for 50-64 year olds, of whom 19% bet last year. Those aged 65 or over were least likely to have placed a bet in the last year, with just 12% having done so.
