The American public may be more forgiving about athletes using online sports betting sites than leagues and governing bodies may think.
A survey of approximately 1,500 American adults commissioned by Covers and conducted by market research company Prolific found solid support for legal sports betting and allowing professional athletes to wager on events in which they do not play.
Asked if they approved of legal and regulated sports betting, 81% of those polled answered "yes," while the remaining 19% said they did not. Meanwhile, 74.7% of survey respondents answered "yes" when asked if U.S. professional athletes should be able to place wagers on other sports, and 25.3% said no.
Free-market wagering
That the public is increasingly on board with legal wagering may not be a huge surprise. After all, sports betting is now authorized in some form in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia. Letting professional athletes bet on sports they do not participate in may also strike some members of the public as a reasonable thing.
To compare, research published by Arizona State University's Global Sport Institute in June 2020 found just 35% of survey respondents supported the legalization of sports betting, while 41% were neutral and 24% were in opposition.
The more recent Covers survey also found a surprisingly sizable chunk of respondents supportive of allowing U.S. professional athletes to place wagers on their sport, as long as they or their team are not directly involved in the game.
Of those surveyed, 38.6% said athletes should be able to bet on their sport (just not their team's games), an increase over the 24% of respondents who agreed to something similar in a May 2022 poll for the Washington Post and the University of Maryland. Yet the majority, 61.4% of respondents in the Covers poll, said pro athletes should be banned from wagering on games in their sport, full stop.
The system works?
The online poll for Covers was conducted on June 27 and surveyed 1,505 American adults living in states with legal sports betting. It has a margin of error of three percentage points with 95% confidence.
The findings came as a rash of recent sports betting-related controversies have come to light involving collegiate and professional athletes. While their exposure signals the rules and systems around regulated wagering are working, they have still put an awkward spotlight on the ties between sports and gambling that have grown in recent years.
In October, for instance, a member of the Betway-sponsored Ottawa Senators was suspended 41 games by the NHL for sports betting-related activities.
“I think people here, people in the industry, might appreciate that stories like this are a sign that the regulated market is working,” said Leonardo Villalobos, counsel, sports betting and compliance at Major League Baseball, during a gaming industry conference earlier this year. “I think maybe fans might not have the same appreciation and might look at stories that happen like this and say, ‘Hey, what's going on, legal sports betting is going off the rails.”
Updated list of player gambling suspensions the last 2 years:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 29, 2023
At least 1 year (bets on NFL):
- WR Calvin Ridley
- CB Isaiah Rodgers
- LB Rashod Berry
- DT Demetrius Taylor
- S CJ Moore
- WR Quintez Cephus
- DE Shaka Toney
6 games (non-NFL bets but done at work):
- OT Nicholas…
Leagues and governing bodies have snapped to attention. On Thursday, for example, the NCAA unveiled updates to penalties for student-athletes who break sports betting-related rules. Even in 2020, the ASU survey found 64% of respondents agreeing that coaches or players involved in gambling, "such as fixing a game by purposely losing," should be fired. Another 19% said they should be fined and 7% suggested a form of rehab.
But more controversy is on the way. The NFL handed down more suspensions this week in connection with its gambling policy, including season-long bans for Indianapolis Colts players Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry for betting on NFL games during the league's 2022 season. Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere was suspended six games for betting on non-NFL sports at a team facility.
"It comes back to, in large part, a couple of rules that have existed as long as anybody can remember," said Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy, during a recent media availability, according to ESPN. "Don't bet on the NFL. That's not new because sports gambling is more available. That's always been the case. And don't bet when you're at work, wherever work happens to be in that moment. That's existed for a long time."
This story was first published in June and has been updated.
