Casual betting down
According to the American Gaming Association, over 33 million adults plan to bet on National Football League (NFL) games this season, down from 38 million last season. The 2020-2021 season begins Thursday, as the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, square off against the Houston Texans.
The survey of 2,200 American adults was conducted by Morning Consult in late August. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percent.
Of the 33.2 million adults who plan to place a bet, 11.3 million (34%), will place it online, either at a registered, licensed site, or an illegal offshore sportsbook. That’s up from 29% last year. 6.6 million (20%) will place their wagers at legal, brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, up from 18%.
8.6 million adults (26%) will bet “casually” in fantasy contests, pools, or squares pools, down from 31% last season. And an estimated 16.6 million, half of the adult bettors, will just make bets casually with friends or family. That’s down from 53%.
“This data illustrates the continued value sports betting provides to leagues through fan engagement, even when fan interest is otherwise down,” the AGA said.
Betting with bookies up
Of particular concern to the AGA is that about 6 million adults (18%) plan on betting with a bookie, up from 12 percent last season. It is a curious stat, considering legal betting options have been increasing rapidly. Additionally, more than half of those who bet with illegal operators (the assumption we’re making is that these bets are placed with online sportsbooks) don’t realize that said operators are illegal.
“As legal sports betting options expand, this data highlights the need for educational efforts to drive bettors away from illegal operators and toward the legal market, which protects consumers and the integrity of games,” said the AGA.
Enthusiasm for season a mixed bag
The AGA added that 93% of sports bettors are interested in the NFL, the highest rate of any sport. It estimates the increased fan engagement with the sport will lead to the NFL raking in $2.3 billion annually.
As mentioned, despite the enthusiasm for NFL betting, the estimate on the total number of people placing bets this season is lower than last year by several million. Reasons give for lower enthusiasm – by 42% of the respondents – were political activism by players and the league and two COVID-19 pandemic-related factors: no fans in the stands (though this isn’t the case everywhere and might not be for the entire season) and the inability to get together with friends to watch games.
Bettors are still more excited for the season than fans in general. 54% of bettors said they were excited for the new season, while 41% of NFL fans in general said they were hyped. Only 18% of the general population said they are excited (my wife is in the 82%) and only 12% of casual fans said they are looking forward to the season.