Young adults are largely ambivalent toward sports betting, with many viewing it as an acceptable activity that also carries possible risks, according to a new study.
The qualitative study, funded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, was conducted from 2023 to 2026 by NORC at the University of Chicago in partnership with Gemini Research in an effort to grasp the largely unknown relationship young adults aged 18 to 25 have with sports betting.
“Many young adults perceive sports betting positively as a low-risk, casual form of entertainment, equating it with making discretionary purchases like 'buying a coffee’ or 'going out to lunch,'” researchers wrote in the study. “However, young adults commonly paired these positive descriptions of sports betting with qualifiers such as 'when done in moderation’ and within limits.”
Researchers found that 71% of the 62 young adults in Massachusetts who participated in the study had previously bet on sports. And 66% of the young adults who participated in the study were between the ages of 21 and 25 while the remaining 34% were 18 to 20 years old – or younger than Massachusetts’ legal sports betting age of 21.
Among active bettors who participated in the study, a majority of their wagers were less than $10, according to the study. Many young adults placed bets “casually and infrequently” and wagered more often during sporting events.
As for which sports bettors wagered on, researchers found participants largely preferred football and basketball and that participants reported betting on a wider variety of sports during major events like the Olympics.
Overall, young adults also preferred what they saw as simpler forms of betting like moneyline bets, which are limited to whether a player or team wins a game or event. That preference strays from national trends that show prop bets and parlays are increasingly popular, according to the study.
Participants overwhelmingly placed bets online and on mobile applications. The study also found many participants were very aware of other platforms like fantasy sports and prediction markets, but many didn’t actively use them.
Researchers said participants often described sports betting as a social activity and that placing bets increased their interest in games and sports. Participants also said that sports betting can carry other benefits like generating state revenue as well as the legal market offering consumer protections that are unavailable in unregulated markets.
Participants said sports betting can come with risks including financial losses and the possibility of developing gambling addiction. But not everyone thought those risks applied to them.
“There was a really important contradiction that repeatedly emerged throughout this study, and that was that participants recognized these risks in theory, but many of them viewed themselves and their immediate friends as relatively immune to these risks,” Katie Gallant from NORC said while presenting the study’s findings during a Gaming Commission meeting Thursday.
Sports betting has become very socially acceptable among young adults, the study found. Technology has played a hand in the normalization of sports betting with participants describing mobile betting as “frictionless and always available in the palms of their hand,” Gallant said.
Participants often described sports betting advertising as “everywhere” and “hard to escape,” researchers said, adding that this shows the “pervasive nature of advertisements that contributes to the normalization of sports betting.” Young adults reported seeing advertisements on social media, podcasts, mobile apps, television and public transportation.
Those under 21 years old reported using several methods to access sports betting like fake identifications, offshore betting websites, VPNs and account sharing.
The study found sports betting is most common among men. But many participants said they’ve noticed participation among women rise since the activity became legal in Massachusetts in 2023.
Petry Ubri with NORC said most young adults’ awareness for prevention and support resources were limited to gambling helplines or disclaimers and many study participants questioned their effectiveness. Young adult support professionals, who researchers spoke with as part of the study, said they had limited training, insufficient resources or not enough services focused on sports betting.
Ubri laid out several recommendations based on the study’s findings to address the risks of sports betting including boosting public education efforts focused on personal risks, including campaigns designed for young adults and increasing awareness and access to support services. Also, researchers suggested assessing the role advertisements and promotions play in forming attitudes towards sports betting as well as implementing and bolstering app-based safeguards. Additionally, they recommended improving age verification and enforcement across platforms.
“Because legalization remains relatively recent in the state, continued evaluation will be essential to understanding how behaviors and impacts evolve over time,” Ubri said, recommending further investments in research and monitoring of sports betting among young adults.
Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at kcastellani@statehousenews.com.
