WASHINGTON – Sports betting adults are more affluent, younger, more diverse and better educated adults than the general population, according to an American Gaming Association (AGA) commissioned study from Nielsen Sports.

The research identifies groundbreaking demographic and behavioral characteristics of self-identified bettors who the AGA believes will populate the future legal U.S. betting landscape. A second, forthcoming element of the project will estimate the amount of revenue this demographic can help unlock for the major U.S. sports leagues.

Among this crucial demographic for sports leagues and broadcasters, 71 percent of those research participants who currently bet with a bookie say they would shift some or all of their betting activity to a regulated market if they had access to a legal platform.

According to Nielsen Sports, 44 percent of sports bettors are adults under the age of 35, as opposed to 31 percent of the general population. Twenty-nine percent of bettors earn a household income of more than $100K, almost double the proportion of the general population.

“The Nielsen Sports 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,” said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association.

“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,” said Slane.

Nielsen Sports surveyed more than 1,000 adult sports fans – including fans of the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL – and self-identified sports bettors nationwide, identifying demographics and consumption habits to quantify the value of the legal sports betting market.

Additional research is underway to quantify how much each league can realize from widely-available, legal, regulated sports betting. Topline findings from the research are available here. Click here for individual graphs representing this research.

About the research

On behalf of the American Gaming Association, Nielsen Sports conducted a custom survey of 1,032 U.S. 18+ adults, representative of census age, gender, geography and ethnicity, from May 15 through May 31, 2018. Nielsen is an independent measurement organization. Nielsen does not guarantee any results or performance, or endorse, rank, approve or recommend any products or services. All names and marks are the property of their respective owners and no sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement in expressed or implied.

About AGA: The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $261 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.8 million jobs nationwide. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, gaming suppliers and other entities affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to achieve sound policies and regulations consistent with casino gaming’s modern appeal and vast economic contributions.

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