Poll finds increased support for legal sports betting
A growing number of Americans approve of legalized betting on professional sports, according to a new poll.
The Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found 66 percent of Americans support betting on pro sports. That number is up 11 percentage points from 2017, a year before the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for betting to expand to states beyond Nevada.
In 1993, support was at just 41 percent, the newspaper said.
Support for betting on college sports is mixed, with only 49 percent approving in the new poll.
Since the Supreme Court decision, sports betting has expanded to more than 30 states and Washington D.C. A majority of those polled (54 percent) said that expansion is “neither good nor bad,” with an even split of 23 percent each calling it either “a good thing” or “a bad thing.”
Despite overall approval of sports betting, 71 percent they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the increasing availability of betting leading to more people becoming addicted to gambling.
A majority (64 percent) reported never having a close friend or family member who gambled too much or too often, while 21 percent said they knew a family member, 14 percent knew a close friend and 4 percent said they personally had had a problem at some point.
Other poll findings included:
— 37 percent are “very” or “somewhat” bothered about the volume of online and TV ads for sports betting, which is more than those concerned about beer ads (25 percent) but less than those bothered by ads for prescription drugs (54 percent).
— 73 percent are concerned that increased betting will lead to more games being fixed or rigged.
— Only 17 percent placed a bet on a pro sports event in the past five years. Only 9 percent bet on a college event.
— Not surprisingly, 85 percent of those who placed a bet in the past five years said it made the game more interesting to watch.
— Of those who approve of sports betting, 68 percent support keeping the legal age at 21 instead of lowering it to 18.
The poll was conducted online May 4-17 from a random national sample of 1,503 adults, the Post said. Results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.
