- 66% of Americans are in favor of regulated sports betting on professional teams.
- 50% of Americans disapprove of allowing betting on college sports.
- 54% of Americans find states that regulated sports betting is neither good nor bad.
WASHINGTON – A recent poll set by the University of Maryland (UMD) exploring sports betting revealed that Americans are more in favor of betting today than ever before.
This is understandable with 30 regulated states and Washington DC allowing locals to wager at regulated books.
The poll also revealed that 54% of Americans view states regulating sports betting is neither good nor bad, with 23% split on whether it’s just good or just bad.
Overall, do you think this has mainly been…
| Category | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A Good Thing | 23% |
| A Bad Thing | 23% |
| Neither Good Nor Bad | 54% |
Sports Betting Approved By Americans
The poll revealed that 66% approve of allowing betting on professional sports at regulated sportsbooks. This is an improvement from 55% of Americans in favor in 2017 and 41% of Americans in favor in 1993.
Additionally, 49% of Americans are in favor of allowing sports betting on college sports at regulated sportsbooks. 50% of Americans are outright opposed to allowing college sports betting.
Professional athletes being allowed to wager on their own leagues is something Americans are vehemently opposed to, with 76% of Americans saying they should not be allowed.
Calvin Ridley of the NFL was recently suspended for betting on his own team during the NFL season when he was out due to injury.
Americas Concerns
Even with the increased approval of the legal sports betting market in the US, 71% of Americans are either somewhat or very concerned with the increased accessibility of betting.
The poll revealed that the 71% of Americans’ concern comes with the potential of players becoming more addicted to gambling.
Another concern that Americans have according to the poll is the sports betting advertisements. 37% of Americans site sports betting ads as a bother compared to 25% for beer and alcohol ads and 54% for prescription drug advertisements.
How much are you bothered, if at all, by the amount of online and TV ads for each of the following?
Legal sports betting continues to grow in popularity and approval as the market expands. Future polls are likely to see an even larger jump in approval ratings.
| Advertisement | Bother | Not Bother |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription Drugs | 54% | 45% |
| Sports Betting | 37% | 62% |
| Beer | 25% | 75% |
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News tags: Keith Whyte | Nevada | UMD | University of Maryland | Washington | Washington Post
Coming from a background in narrative-based writing, Giovanni strives to write stories that will keep the reader engaged. Although he does pride himself in being accurate, how the story is told is also very important to him. When he’s not keeping readers up to date on sports betting laws and legislation, you can find him writing and recording music, playing videogames, or engaged in heated sports debates with his friends.
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