Nearly half of US sports fans will bet more with legalized gambling

Almost half of US sports fans (46%) say they will bet more often with the advent of legalized gambling, according to one of the first surveys on betting conducted since the repeal of PASPA last month.

The recent poll, conducted by the National Research Group surveyed 1,010 Americans to determine their attitudes towards sports betting.

The data, showed that six in 10 Americans approve of sports gambling, particularly for professional sports while 42% of those who current watch sports programmes go on to make bets, spending on average $82 per bet.

Exactly 46% of individuals surveyed said that they would bet more often if gambling were to be legalised nationwide, with 79% saying that they would bet on the Superbowl and 43% expressing an interest in betting on the NBA finals.

One survey result that should give a boost to the online gambling industry is that nearly 9 in 10 potential gamblers are interested in using legal websites or apps to place bets, with 7 in 10 interested in seeing gambling odds on screen while games are in progress.

On the other side of the coin, 73% of Americans surveyed believe that more people will become addicted to gambling, while 7 in 10 stated that they felt that referees or players would be among the first to cheat.

At the lower level of collegiate and amateur sports, 60% of sports viewers surveyed felt that unpaid athletes would be the most susceptible to corruption, while 18% of sports viewers say that referees or coaches are at risk for cheating.

Speaking about the survey, Jon Penn, CEO of National Research Group said “The legalization of sports betting moves it from the shadows to the mainstream of the American sports landscape. Our survey reveals that betting will spur more live viewing and consumption of all sports.

“Just as fantasy sports created a nationwide fascination around player statistics, we expect betting lines, futures and odds to become a core fabric of sports coverage and the fan experience.”