Sunday's Super Bowl in Las Vegas is one of the biggest betting days of the year. A new poll from St. Bonaventure University and the Siena College Research Institute finds 39% of Americans bet on sports, and 15% say they know someone with a related gambling problem. The poll also finds one in five Americans has an online sports betting account. WAMC’s Ian Pickus spoke with the director of the Siena poll, Dr. Don Levy, about their findings.
It seems like, you know, sports gambling has kind of taken the nation by storm after being only a few years ago legalized by the Supreme Court. Is that what the poll found?
Well, absolutely. I mean, we didn't ask some of these questions a few years ago, but certainly right now, as you point out, about one out of five Americans have an online sports betting account. And that includes nearly 40% of men between the ages of 18 and 50, 20% of young women. So, it clearly is growing at this point in time. In fact, of online sports bettors, 57% of everyone who bets online is a man between the ages of 18 and 50.
What do we know about what that looks like in practice? Are people, you know, making one bet a year? Or is this like a constant thing?
Well, we certainly see that many of these folks are betting very often. When we asked them how often, we said a quarter of those who bet, bet three or more times a week. Another 35% of betters bet once or twice a week, so you're up to about nearly 60% of those who have online sports betting accounts are active every single week. Why do they do it? They told us that it's fun, it's exciting and makes them more interested in the games. They think they're going to make money by placing bets. In fact, about a third, slightly more than a third, say that they have won more than they've lost. About a third say they've broken even, and just under a third admit that they've lost more than they've won. But there are problems with it, 15% of all the respondents that we spoke to, 22% of young men say that they themselves, or they know someone who has a problem with online sports betting. And nearly a quarter say that someone in their life has turned to them and expressed concern to them about their usage of online sportsbooks, 40% says that at some point or another, they have felt ashamed after losing and virtually the same percentage, 38%, say that they have bet more than they should have on an online sportsbook at some point.
Do we know anything about dollar amounts? I mean, I guess any loss stings, but are people losing a lot of money?
Well, what they told us is that 59% of all betters have bet $100 or more in a day and a quarter of those with an online sports betting account have bet $500 or more in a day. So, again, those dollar amounts are in the eye of the beholder, but they sound like pretty significant amounts of money to me.
One thing that was interesting in the results is that a plurality of people who responded say that sports betting should be legal all over the U.S. But a majority said that that would lead to more problem gamblers.
Yeah, I think it makes sense. On the one hand, plurality say it should be legal. A size of a plurality also say that they think it's a great form of entertainment that allows fans to gamble responsibly. But, you know, I think everyone is simultaneously aware of the other side of the coin. And as you point out, by 65% to 23%, all Americans, not just those within accounts, agree that online sports betting will end up creating compulsive gamblers that'll cause pain to them and their families. And young men, the folks who gambled the most, agree at the rate of 59%. In fact, 47% of plurality are also concerned that online sports betting will end up corrupting organized sports. So, it's the fact that it can get out of control. That's what people are telling us that they're very much concerned about. We took a quote from one reformed online sports addict and we asked that in the form of a question, and we found that by 79 to 14, Americans agree that any smartphone app that lets people drain their bank accounts in one evening is a bad idea. And overwhelmingly, majority calls for avoiding making it illegal, restricting the ability to link a credit card. It should be forbidden, 55% say that linking a credit card to an online sports betting account should be forbidden. And 61% call for the federal government to aggressively regulate online sports betting. So, while many fields, though this is something that is just entertainment, if you have a system, if you are careful, it can be just that. However, right beneath the surface, there's a recognition that for some, this is going to be a compulsion that will cause pain, both emotional and financial, for them and their families.
What about the question of advertising sports betting? If 39% of Americans, as your poll found, are betting on sports, 100% of anyone who's watched a game is seeing these ads in every break in the action.
Well, certainly. I think it's twofold. It's first of all the advertising. A small plurality, 44% to 39%, agree that online sportsbooks should not be allowed to advertise during sporting events. Interesting, young men, again the most ardent gamblers, a majority of young men think it should. But, amongst everyone else at the side of plurality, think online sportsbooks should not advertise. But it's more than that. We're also evenly divided, 40% for it, 40% against it, as to whether or not they like the fact that now during the games or during pregame shows, the announcers, the analysts are not only talking about the game, but they're talking about the betting odds and offering tips on betting as well. Again, young men think that's a great idea, 57% of young men say absolutely. But amongst everyone else, by 12 points, they disagree. So clearly, both the advertising and the integration of sports betting into the sporting events themselves has ratcheted up of late. And not all Americans agree that it's a good idea. Will it lead to more people having these accounts? I think it will. You know, right now, as we pointed out, 39%, call it four out of 10 Americans, bet on sporting events to some degree. Only 20%, half, say that they have an account. So, there's another group of people who say that they bet on sports. It could just be you and I making a friendly wager, it could be an office pool. But they are ready to bet on sports. And I think with the degree of advertising and integration of sports betting into sporting events, we may very well see an uptick in the number of people who have accounts. Remember also that about three quarters of everyone who has an account with an online sportsbook told us that part of the reason was they took advantage of an online promotion in which they bet a small amount and they got credit for a much larger amount. So, the online sports betting companies certainly are inviting more folks to participate in the gaming online.
Now, just as we wrap up, zooming out a little bit, do we know how these numbers compare with other types of gambling that Americans do?
We've seen in other surveys that we've done that these numbers are actually on par with the percentage of Americans who say they go to casinos. They’re higher numbers than those who used to tell us that they bet with an illegal bookie. So, 20% is a sizable percentage of all Americans engaged in this activity because it’s legal. So, I think that we will see that this is a significant percentage of Americans, a very significant percentage of young people, most especially young men, and the signs do point to a growth rather than a decline in online sports betting.
