A TransUnion study released Tuesday shows sports betting participation continues to grow, echoing other recent research and academic analysis.
Greater sports betting participation among Baby Boomers (age 59 and above) and Gen X (ages 43-58) bettors drove the year-over-year increase. Baby Boomer participation increased from 10% of respondents to 17% while Gen X grew from 19% to 23%.
This offset a decline among Millennials (ages 27-42), which fell from 40% to 35%. Gen Z (ages 18-26) participation declined slightly from 32% to 31%. Combined, these two groups still account for two-thirds of all bettors.
“The demographic shift in betting activity serves as a good reminder that the best predictor of engagement is not age but rather increased earnings and liquidity,” said Declan Raines, head of TransUnion’s Gaming business, in a statement announcing the results.
“Those who have a sudden influx of disposable income are more likely to participate in betting, and operators should keep that in mind when developing their marketing strategies.”
Bettors remain above national financial averages
The study found sports bettors remain above the national median average financially.
The percentage of bettors who said their household finances were “better than planned” was more than double that of non-bettors across every generation except Baby Boomers, where bettors were only slightly more favorable compared to non-bettors. Bettors across all generations were significantly more likely to see their income increase in the past quarter.
About 13 million American adults (around 5% of the adult US population) wagered more than $500 a month on sports betting in 2024, per a TransUnion survey
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) February 11, 2025
“Given the higher likelihood among bettors to have experienced an increase in income, feeling as though their finances are in better shape than planned is unsurprising,” the study found.
Respondents that gambled more than $500 a month were more likely to say they were struggling in certain financial metrics than non-bettors last year, but had some of the highest income levels and credit scores of the survey group. The study found these bettors, not surprisingly, saw higher financial volatility and these results were still improved over 2023.
Survey expounds upon academic findings
The TransUnion survey referenced two of a series of high-profile academic papers released in 2024 that painted a mostly negative picture of the gaming industry. The papers found a certain subset of Americans had some form of adverse consequence to legal sports betting, but overall only a small subset of Americans were betting beyond their means.
Only about 13 million bettors, around 5% of the U.S. adult population, wagered more than $500 a month in 2024's fourth quarter, per the TransUnion study. More than half of those high-frequency bettors had “Good” to “Excellent” credit scores along with average or above income levels.
Compared to 2023, the percentage of low-income, lower credit score bettors fell in 2024. Only 4% of 2024 bettors overall were in what the study determined as a “high risk” cohort where they had some combination of low-to-middle income levels and credit scores below 660.
“This should be a welcome sign for both operators and regulators looking to ensure safe play among users,” according to analysis included in the survey. “Though there’s still work to be done, ensuring the most active bettors are financially resilient and can comfortably sustain their levels of betting activity is an important step toward reducing problem gaming.”
