Arizona State University Sees Public Opinion about Sports Betting Remain Unchanged

America’s got bettors, but their numbers seem to be independent of regulatory changes or the availability of more gambling options across the United States. A new poll by Arizona State University’s Global Sports University has found out that, for the most part, people in the US are still divided when it comes to gambling.

The numbers of those for and against seem to be fixed. This comes at a time when 30 states and Washington D.C. have introduced sports betting regulations and 196 million Americans now have access to betting products.

Arizona Pinpoints the American Sports Bettor

Based on the poll’s findings, 44% of respondents feel that having the ability to place wagers in sports contests is a good idea. Some 16% are still opposed. The poll was conducted between January 13-19 and it offered many interesting insights.

For example, 62% of respondents admitted that they were not participating in any type of sports betting contest, despite the increase in available options. Another 79% confirmed that the fact that you had more retail venues to walk in and place a wager had not changed how they felt about sports.

In terms of public perception, 54% of males were in favor of betting. They were mostly in the age groups of 35-54 (54%), and Hispanic/Latinos and Atlantic region respondents were more likely to be in favor of sports betting (49%). Meanwhile, demographics that were opposed were males aged 65+ (31%), postgraduates (21%), and conservatives (21%).

This, Global Sports Institute director of research Scott Brooks thinks is indicative that people’s opinions of sports betting legalization and participation come down to different motivations. A wave of legalization has not changed most people’s opinions of sports gambling. Commenting for Sportico, Brooks added:

“People are pretty stuck with their ideas of betting, whether that’s a good thing or not, particularly if they’re willing to bet.”

Advertisements and Who the Most Frequent Bettors Are

The survey looked into personal beliefs and opinions about sports gambling and how the legalization has impacted participants. Some 43% of the respondents said that they had not seen advertisements on television or other platforms about specific sports betting platforms. Another 44% confirmed that they had and 13% responded that they weren’t sure.

The survey then dug into what demographics had been the most likely to be targeted by sports betting advertisements since 2018. It was established that males between 35-44 and in the Western region were the most likely targets of such advertisement, around 51% for both indicators.

Breaking down the demographics further, it turned out that females were less likely to have seen betting advertisements (51%) along with people in the Pacific region (56%), and Asian groups (53%).

The poll further looked into betting behavior and frequency of participation. For example, the category listed as “frequent bettors” would be betting monthly (15%). Another 23% would be betting less than a month. Frequent bettors were mostly between the ages of 18-44 (70%), earning over $100,000+ a year (35%) and male (68%).

Casual bettors were mostly in the ages of 35-54 (39%) with the bulk of them earning $50,000+ annually (65%) and male (55%). As to those opposing betting altogether, they were female (58%) and those aged 65+ (28%) were the most opposed.