Sports Betting Statistics

How Many Americans Bet on Sports?

About one in five US adults reported sports betting in Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey: 22% had bet in some form during the previous 12 months, and 10% had bet online.^[1] The online figure is part of the broader participation measure, not an additional group to add to it.^[1]

Pew’s definition included private pools, fantasy leagues, and casual bets with friends or family, as well as online and in-person sportsbook betting. Someone who joined a paid office pool could therefore count as a sports bettor without ever opening a sportsbook app.^[1]

Pew surveyed 9,916 US adults from July 8 through August 3, 2025, and published the findings on October 2.^[1] The percentages describe respondents’ previous 12 months, not just bets placed during the survey dates or the 2025 calendar year.^[1]

In Pew’s 2022 survey, the corresponding figures were 19% for any sports betting and 6% for online sports betting.^[1] This comparison within Pew’s survey series shows increased reported participation, especially online. It does not identify what caused the change.^[1]

Who Bets on Sports in the US?

Men reported sports betting more often than women in Pew’s 2025 survey, and participation was particularly common among younger adults. All of these figures refer to betting during the previous 12 months.^[1]

• Men: 25% reported sports betting in any form.^[1]
• Women: 19% reported sports betting in any form.^[1]
• Adults ages 18–29: 31% reported sports betting in any form, while 17% reported online sports betting.^[1]

These are percentages within each demographic group. A 25% participation rate among men means roughly one in four adult men reported betting. It does not mean men made up only a quarter of sports bettors.^[1]

The distinction between any betting and online betting also matters. The 31% figure for younger adults includes social and offline betting. It should not be presented as the percentage using online sportsbooks. These findings describe participation, not the likelihood that an individual will develop an addiction.^[1]

What Do Sports Betting Addiction Statistics Measure?

In Scott L. Fulford’s 2026 paper, 33.8% of all sports bettors met a study-defined high-intensity category based on prior-year betting. The underlying CFPB survey began in January 2025 and included mobile and non-mobile bettors. This category described engagement, not a validated problem-gambling screening result or a diagnosis.^[3]

A bettor met the definition by reporting at least one of these patterns during the previous year:

• Betting at least weekly.^[3]
• Usually wagering more than $50 per bet.^[3]
• Losing $100 or more in a single day.^[3]

Meeting any one criterion was enough. Someone could qualify because of their typical bet size without betting weekly. Another person could qualify through frequent small bets. The same research category can therefore contain substantially different patterns.

Siena Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University’s February 16–27, 2026 survey measured other experiences among respondents who had an online sportsbook account and had placed a bet. Its questions about chasing losses and financial harm asked whether these experiences had ever happened, rather than whether they happened in the previous year.^[2]

Putting the population and recall period beside each percentage makes these differences easier to see.

On a small screen, scroll sideways to read all columns.

Sports betting addiction statistics are not interchangeable. Participation measures whether someone bet. An intensity category describes frequency or money involved. A report of chasing losses describes a behavior. None of the percentages above establishes how many Americans have a diagnosed gambling disorder specifically involving sports betting.^[1][3][2]

What Percentage of Sports Bettors Win?

In Siena and St. Bonaventure’s February 2026 survey, 39% of respondents who had an online sportsbook account and had placed a bet said they won more than they lost. This was their assessment of their results, not an audit of their betting accounts.^[2]

Among that same group:

• 32% said they lost more than they won.^[2]
• 28% said they usually broke even.^[2]
• 1% were recorded as unknown or refused.^[2]

The question does not establish audited net profit over a defined accounting period. Its wording also does not establish that respondents were counting only the number of winning bets rather than money won or lost. The finding should be read as a self-reported assessment, not a verified profitable-customer percentage or anyone’s future chance of winning.^[2]

Why Can Winning Bets Still Leave a Loss?

Imagine several small winning bets followed by one much larger losing bet. The earlier wins happened, but the larger loss can leave less money overall. Counting wins alone would miss that result. A payout can also include the return of the original stake, so the full payout is not necessarily money gained.

For a clearer record, choose a fixed period and review every betting account and any cash bets. For settled bets, compare the total money staked with the total returned, including returned stakes. Track unsettled bets separately.

Deposits and withdrawals need a separate check. Moving money into a sportsbook is not itself a losing bet, and withdrawing money is not automatically a profit. Reconcile those transfers with starting and ending balances so money left in an account is not overlooked.

The useful question is not simply “How often did I win?” It is “After accounting for the money in and out, what happened to the money I needed for the rest of my life?”

How Much Money Do Sports Bettors Lose?

In Fulford’s analysis of the CFPB survey that began in January 2025, 5% of all sports bettors reported that their largest single-day loss in the previous year was $500 or more. At the other end, 68% reported a largest single-day loss of $50 or less.^[3]

This question measured each person’s largest losing day, not their total annual losses. Losses can accumulate across many days, while winning days can offset some losses. These figures therefore do not establish the average amount a US sports bettor loses in a year.

What Do Handle and Operator Win Mean?

For completed events in the year ended December 2025, New Jersey’s licensed casinos, racetracks, and their partners reported the figures below. These are New Jersey figures, not US totals.^[4]

On a small screen, scroll sideways to read both columns.

Handle

The total amount wagered. If money returned from one bet is wagered again, it adds to handle again. Handle is therefore not the same as unique customer deposits or the amount customers lost.

Operator win

The aggregate amount operators retain from wagers after payouts in the reported scope. It is not net business profit after operating expenses and taxes, and it does not show how losses were distributed among customers.

Operator-win percentage

Operator win divided by handle for the same reporting scope. It measures the operators’ aggregate share of wagers, not the percentage of customers or bets that won.^[4]

The reported 9.5% does not mean 9.5% of customers won or that every customer lost 9.5% of their deposits.^[4]

New Jersey labels these figures unaudited and subject to adjustment. Its total handle including future events is a different amount. The figures above all come from the completed-events table so the wagers and operator win cover the same scope.^[4]

What Do Studies Find About Financial Harm?

Fulford’s adjusted analyses found no statistically clear association between sports betting and lower average financial wellbeing or greater difficulty paying bills. They did find an association with carrying credit card debt from one bill to the next among credit card holders.^[3]

The analysis accounted for income and other demographic characteristics when comparing financial outcomes. It was observational, so it cannot establish whether betting caused the credit card debt association. The overall survey had 2,630 respondents, but only 93 met the study’s high-intensity definition. That small subgroup limited the precision of its estimates.^[3]

Even in the high-intensity subgroup, the study did not find statistically clear differences in financial wellbeing or bill-paying difficulty. The uncertainty ranges allowed modest negative effects as well as no difference. A larger sample could detect differences this study could not.^[3]

How Can Average Findings Coexist With Serious Harm?

In his discussion, Fulford emphasizes that small or unclear average financial differences can coexist with harm concentrated among a smaller group. Some respondents attributed financial difficulty to gambling losses. An average across many occasional bettors does not describe what is happening in a household that cannot cover rent.^[3]

Siena’s 26% finding captures a different experience: ever losing enough to cause trouble meeting financial obligations among people with an online sportsbook account who had placed a bet. It is not an annual risk and cannot be treated as a change from Fulford’s prior-year findings.^[2]

For your own situation, the useful questions are concrete: Has betting used money set aside for rent or groceries? Are you carrying card balances because that money was spent? Are you increasing bets to recover a loss? These are details worth bringing to counseling, even if your losses fall below a study’s dollar threshold.

How Many Sports Bettors Seek Help?

In Siena and St. Bonaventure’s February 2026 survey, 15% of respondents who had an online sportsbook account and had placed a bet reported ever calling a problem-gambling helpline or seeking other help to control or stop problem-gambling behaviors.^[2]

That is a broad help-seeking measure. It does not mean 15% were in treatment when surveyed, completed treatment, or recovered. The question included helpline contact and other forms of help without establishing what happened afterward.^[2]

What Should You Ask a Counselor?

A first conversation can help you find out whether a provider’s experience and approach fit your needs. NIMH recommends asking about credentials, experience with the concern being treated, treatment methods, goals, progress, and fees. Our guide to gambling-focused counseling explains care choices and what counseling can involve.^[5]

Useful questions include:

• What experience do you have helping people with gambling problems?
• What approach would you use, and why does it fit my situation?
• How would we set goals and assess progress?
• What will sessions cost, do you accept my insurance, and are reduced fees available?
• When is your next available appointment, and can you suggest another resource if you are not a good fit?

You can describe the problem in everyday terms: chasing losses, spending bill money, checking bets throughout the day, or repeatedly trying to stop. You do not need to arrive knowing which research label or clinical term applies. A helpline can also help you look for counseling and other support options.^[6]

Reading Sports Betting Statistics in Context

The most useful way to check a sports-betting number is to ask who was counted, when the experience occurred, what was measured, and how participants were recruited. These details explain why two accurate findings may answer different questions.

• Who was counted? Pew surveyed 9,916 US adults through its American Trends Panel. Fulford analyzed 2,630 respondents in a CFPB survey drawn from credit records and weighted to represent US adults ages 18 and older. Neither full sample consisted entirely of sports bettors.^[1][3]
• When did it happen? A publication year is not necessarily the data year. Fulford’s 2026 paper used a survey that began in January 2025 and asked about prior-year betting. Siena collected its data February 16–27, 2026, but its ever-experienced questions could capture events from much earlier.^[3][2]
• What was measured? An account, a bet, a largest losing day, difficulty paying a bill, and a helpline call are different events. Likewise, operator revenue cannot tell you the percentage of customers who finished profitable.
• How were people recruited? Siena used a non-probability Lucid/Cint online panel of 3,084 US residents, statistically adjusted for demographic characteristics. That is the full sample, not the account-and-bettor subgroup. The selected crosstabs do not report that subgroup’s unweighted size.^[2]

Differences in recruitment, question wording, and recall periods can produce different estimates. Combining a Pew participation percentage, a CFPB financial measure, and a Siena ever-experienced percentage does not create a year-by-year trend.

These sources do not establish a national diagnosed rate of sports betting addiction, the share of customers with verified net profits, or a complete all-market US loss total. They also do not provide under-18 or college-student-specific rates. Adults ages 18–29 should not be treated as a college-student sample.

For findings about gambling beyond sports, see our broader gambling addiction statistics.

When Sports Betting Is Costing Too Much

You do not need to know how your betting compares with a national average before asking for help. Start with the change you need: keeping bill money available, interrupting loss-chasing, or getting back time and attention.

• Prepare a clear account of what is happening. Write down money spent, bills affected, time devoted to betting, and attempts to stop. Bring account records if they help you explain the pattern.
• Ask about ways to interrupt betting. Counseling and self-exclusion resources are among the options the National Problem Gambling Helpline can help you locate.^[6]
• Address the bills as well as the behavior. List overdue amounts and upcoming due dates. Our gambling debt guide explains the different roles of gambling counseling and nonprofit credit counseling, including help reviewing budgets and debt options.

For confidential support and referrals, call 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) or text 1-800-697-3738. The National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 for people affected by gambling and their loved ones. Resources can include counseling, financial counseling, self-exclusion information, and family support.^[6]

If you are worried about someone else, offer a specific first step: sit with them while they make a call, help gather bills, or help prepare questions for a counselor. You can ask the helpline about support for yourself, too.