71% of bettors would swap offshore for legal sports betting, AGA study finds
New study finds sports bettors are “more affluent, younger, more diverse and better educated”
An American Gaming Association-commissioned study by Nielsen Sports has revealed that 71% of sports bettors would switch from an unlicensed illegal bookmaker if they had access to a legal platform.
Nielsen Sports surveyed more than 1,000 adult sports fans, aiming to identify demographic and behavioural characteristics of self-identified bettors, to better understand the nature of the future US sports betting landscape.
Of these, 44% of sports bettors surveyed are adults under the age of 35, with 29% of bettors surveyed having an annual income of more than $100,000 per year.
The study revealed that avid bettors are more affluent and younger than casual bettors. In addition, bettors on major US sports are likely to be male and college graduates.
Survey participants were also questioned on whether they would potentially bet on individual sports in a post-PASPA environment, with a 60% increase in the number of people betting on the NFL following the legalisation of sports betting.
Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association said that the survey data “supports what we’ve long expected: access to legal sports wagering will increase fan engagement in major sport contests and enable a significant revenue generation opportunity for major sports leagues and teams,”
The survey also found that projected volumes of sports betting in the NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL would potentially also experience similar growth in a post-PASPA world with rises of 24%, 55% and 24% reported among all survey participants.
Slane added: “Expanding access to legal sports betting will bring millennial audiences back to sports broadcasts and stadiums, which is a huge benefit for sport enterprises across the country.
“However, this potential will only be realized with proper policy frameworks that empower consumers with competitive odds, access to all bets and the ability to tap into modern platforms including mobile. Without this focus on consumers, the illegal market will continue to thrive.”
A second phase of the research, which has yet to be released will estimate the amount of revenue these bettors may generate for the major US sports leagues.