More Americans View Legal Sports Betting as ‘Bad’ During Critical Time for U.S. Sportsbooks

A new Pew Research study found that Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a “bad thing for society and sports.”

The study surveyed 9,916 U.S. adults from July 8 to August 3, 2025, with 43% of respondents saying legal sports betting is a bad thing for society. That’s a significant increase from 34% in Pew’s 2022 study. Additionally, 40% of adults now think it’s a bad thing for sports, up from 33%.

Only Slight Uptick in U.S. Adults Making Bets

In the new survey, 22% of respondents “personally bet money on sports” in the past year. That’s a slight increase from 19% three years ago. Betting included three forms:

• With friends or family, such as in a private betting pool, fantasy league, or casual bet
• Online with a betting app, sportsbook, or casino
• In person at a casino, racetrack, or betting kiosk

Notably, online sports betting accounted for the entire rise among those wagering. The study also revealed that “some groups of Americans are more likely than others to say they’ve personally bet money on sports in the past year.”

• 31% of young adults 18-29 years old
• 30% of Black adults
• 27% of Hispanic adults

For comparison, only 19% of White and 22% of Asian respondents reported making a bet in the last year.

Findings Mirror Recent National Council on Problem Gambling Study

In July, the National Council on Problem Gambling‘s most recent national survey, NGAGE 3.0, also found that overall participation in sports betting has not changed significantly despite the expansion of legal states to 38 (including the District of Columbia).

The number of adults who made a sports bet decreased from 26% in 2021 to 23% in 2024. The percentage of respondents who reported gambling at least once also remained essentially unchanged at 71% versus 73%.

What Does the Future Hold for Legal U.S. Sports Betting?

Legal sports betting in the U.S. has clearly plateaued in recent years. Those who want to bet on sports are already doing so, and many of them still use illegal offshore sportsbooks. In August, the American Gaming Association reported that US bettors wagered an estimated $84 billion at unlicensed sports betting sites or with bookies over the past year.

Missouri will be the only U.S. state to introduce legal sports betting this year, with the launch scheduled for December. Then, there’s the growing threat of sports prediction markets for U.S. sportsbook operators. Kalshi produced over $303 million in trading volume for the opening week of the NFL season, and shows no signs of slowing its expansion in sports trading markets.

DraftKings Sportsbook’s stock price fell from $42.25 on Tuesday to just over $35 on Thursday, with many observers attributing that to the launch of same-game parlays at Kalshi.