In a year rife with betting scandals across professional and college sports, more than one-third of Americans see the increase in legal sports betting as a “bad thing,” a recent poll found.
Key Takeaways
- A poll was conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland from Dec. 4-7.
- The survey found an increase in Americans who believe the rise of sports betting is “a bad thing.”
- More Americans oppose player prop bets than accept them.
The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland, found 36% of respondents believe more states offering wagering is not good, up from 23% in 2022.
The number of non-sports bettors who took issue with legal sports betting rose from 27% to 40%. Individuals who said they take part in wagering saw an even bigger jump among the concerned group, rising from 3% in 2022 to 20% in 2025. Ages 18-34, 50-64, and 65+ saw significant, double-digit percentage growth compared to the 2022 poll.
Nearly 50% of Americans said they were neutral on the increase of sports betting and the influence of the industry. That was down from the 54% from three years ago. The poll found 14% of Americans see the wagering spread as a “good thing,” which was down from 23% in 2022.
Sports betting is legal in 39 U.S. states. Missouri is the only state in 2025 to launch wagering, which occurred Dec. 1.
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Other poll results
Just under 20% of Americans said the talk of betting during an event makes games more interesting, while 46% believe it makes no difference and 15% said they haven’t seen discussion of betting when watching sports. One-fifth of Americans find betting discussions make games less interesting.
Specific issues of sports betting, including addiction issues, rigged or fixed games, and the potential of youth wagering, were all seen as concerns among over 60% of Americans, but none of those issues saw an increase from three years ago.
Fewer Americans support player prop betting than those who don't, the poll found. Just 23% said wagers on individual player stats should be allowed, while 27% opposed those markets. Over 40% of Americans are in favor of traditional wagers on the outcome of games being allowed.
The Washington Post polled 1,032 Americans from Dec. 4-7.
U.S. sports scandals
Earlier this year, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was federally charged in a gambling scheme after he allegedly manipulated his game performance in 2023 for profit. He pleased not guilty. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was implicated in a rigged poker game as well. Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges after admitting to manipulating games to aid a group of bettors in 2024.
MLB experienced multiple scandals in 2025, which may have impacted the Washington Post-Maryland poll. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter was sentenced earlier this year to 57 months in federal prison. Ippei Mizuhara stole over $16 million from Ohtani to pay off an illegal bookmaker.
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in November for allegedly manipulating pitches to aid wagers placed by two individuals in the Dominican Republic. The two players will stand trial in May 2026.
Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired earlier this year for placing wagers through a friend’s sports betting account. Although Hoberg was found not to have bet on MLB games, he did wager on baseball.
The NCAA has banned numerous former college basketball players for various gambling-related infractions.
