The NFL season begins tomorrow and with it, so does the season of raining money for sportsbooks. And Americans have their wallets open. According to a survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA), about 73.5 million Americans, or more than 25% of the adult population, plan to place a bet on the NFL this season.
That’s a 57.7% increase from last year’s AGA survey, but it makes sense. Since the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018, legal sports betting has exploded in the country. Nearly three-quarters of the states have legal sportsbooks in operation. And though the rate at which states legalize sports betting is naturally slowing the fewer states that are left without the pastime, more and more people are still picking up the form of entertainment every day.
There is still a lot of growth left, though. Populous states such as California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia still don’t have legal sports betting.
Since states got the green light to legalize sports betting in 2018, people have wagered over $250 billion with US sportsbooks, according to the AGA’s data.
With increased access to betting, though, comes an increase in people gambling too much. In a survey by Optimove, again commissioned by the AGA, 45% of bettors said that have at one point or another bet more than they could afford to lose. Nearly all respondents – 92% – are aware of responsible gambling resources and 40% have used them.
About 81% of respondents set a budget for their NFL gambling and 36% bet between $11 and $50 per wager.
Interestingly, while 66% of the population wants to see fewer personalized messages for their general online spending, only 37% of NFL bettors want to see fewer messages. 24% actually want more message, presumably so they can find out about offers or opportunities that may be of interest.
The usual types of bets are expected to be the most popular for NFL betting this year. 62% of survey respondents said their most highly anticipated bets will be on the point spread, 53% said the over/under, and 46% said moneyline. Live bets – wagers you can place while the game is going on – have also become very popular; 61% of respondents say they place these kinds of bets.
But, as people are people and think very highly of themselves, 57% of respondents said they had “moderate or better” success betting on the NFL, while only 9% said they did poorly. Yes, because sportsbooks definitely stay in business because over half of their customers are winners.