By Diana Guerrero, journalist at G&M News.
What led Urban Institute to specifically investigate the financial differences between online sports bettors and those who bet in person?
Since the 2018 Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court case legalizing sports betting in the United States, online sportsbooks and betting behavior have grown rapidly. Our team had seen several trends that indicated to us that online sports betting was fundamentally different than traditional betting at a casino. I can mention the lack of friction in accessing these platforms, aggressive marketing and promotions, direct partnerships with professional sports leagues, and the recent rise of prediction markets that are regulated as event contract markets instead of gambling. For all of these reasons, we wanted to separate these two forms of sports betting and understand how bettors’ financial behaviors and attitudes differ across channels.
What were the most significant findings regarding the financial risks faced by online bettors compared to land-based gamblers?
We found that those who bet online are 15 times more likely to have missed a bill payment than in-person-only bettors. The numbers are modest (5 percent versus 0.3 percent), but the difference was significant and is consistent with other landmark research linking sports betting and financial difficulties. Across the board, these online bettors also bet more often, for larger amounts of money, and place more complex, risky bet types like parlays, props, and live bets.
What characteristics or conditions make online bettors more likely to experience financial difficulties?
This isn’t directly answerable from our research, but it’s likely due to two major reasons: lack of friction and aggressive marketing from online sportsbooks. My colleague Thea Garon has written about how easy it is for anyone with a smartphone to place a bet in seconds, with no travel, cash, or interpersonal interaction required. Sports betting is now so intertwined with the fan experience; with commentators, commercials, and pundits all discussing betting odds and platforms throughout live sporting events. There has also been research into how online sportsbooks employ deceptive marketing practices in their products, including well-timed promotional bets to hook users, lack of clear messaging about total losses, and prompts to place bets immediately after previous ones. This addictive pull combined with the lack of friction is a formidable combination for many bettors.
Considering recent World Cup and the growth of digital market, what trends do you anticipate in players’ behavior and in related public policies?
Again, this isn’t something we can answer from our research, but I can share my perspective on the landscape. American professional leagues like the NBA and MLB have been paying close attention to players’ behavior that threatens competitive integrity, even as they embrace partnerships with sportsbooks. Policymakers and league officials have both expressed concern specifically about prop bets on personal statistics that might be manipulated by players or those with inside information. It’s possible we could see restrictions on the breadth of bets sportsbooks offer, though I’d expect this to address competitive integrity much more than the behaviors of online bettors in our survey described above. Considering an estimated USD 240 billion was gambled on the 2026 World Cup alone, it’s unlikely that gambling trends will slow down, even with some public policy action.
How should regulators and operators respond to these findings to better protect consumers?
We suggest a number of policy solutions, some of which are already being explored by bipartisan legislators here in the U.S. These include age restrictions for younger, more vulnerable gamblers, prohibiting deceptive and aggressive marketing tactics by sportsbooks, and limiting the range of complex, risky bet types that can be offered by sportsbooks. We also propose actions that financial service providers themselves could take to protect consumers, such as allowing customers to voluntarily block credit card gambling transactions (something the U.K. has done). All of these policies are intended to add friction back into the experience for consumers that most need it.
What role can financial education play in mitigating the risks faced by younger online bettors, and how could such initiatives be integrated into the industry?
Over two-thirds of respondents who bet on sports told us their primary reason for betting is to try to win money. This is concerning because the vast majority of bettors on online sportsbooks and prediction markets lose money over the long run. Financial education can narrow the gap between perception and reality, helping younger bettors understand dynamics like risk/reward trade-offs, long-term odds, and loss-chasing behaviors. Many high schools already integrate personal finance education on topics like money management, saving, and credit. Increasingly, new educational modules are being designed to teach students about sports betting, prediction markets, and other speculative investment activities like cryptocurrency. We see these approaches as promising, but how well they work is still an open question, one we hope to help answer through future research studies and industry partnerships.