Using any form of sports gambling product can significantly undermine your household’s financial health, according to startling new Bank of America findings released ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Bank of America internal data showed that households with someone betting on sports had depleted bank account balances. “In 2026, the median deposit account balance of households that participated in online betting was 59% of that of households that did not,” BofA reported.
The findings follow a similarly alarming BofA report from 2025 that determined some private lenders, including student-loan giant Sallie Mae, have been under “pressure” from legal sports gambling.
What’s at Play
In the 2026 report, BofA noted that some of those account balance differences may be because bettors tend to be younger and already have lower incomes. Gen Z and Millennials comprised 88% of online betting activity, according to the nine-page report published Sept. 1.
Lower-income households comprised 37% of online sports betting activity, compared with 34% for middle-income households and 29% for higher-income households.
The BofA report examined prediction markets and traditional, house-banked sports betting.
Bottom Line
Whether it’s DFS, offshore, regulated, sweepstakes, or prediction markets, all forms of sports gambling may be financially unwise for you and your family.
These products are often designed to be habit-forming and to maximize user losses.
Research data going back to at least 2024 links legal sports betting to U.S. household financial harm. More recently, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found evidence of population-level financial harm from legal sports betting. Another more recent study found legal sports betting associated with household food insecurity.
There is no shame or stigma in falling prey to these products, as their marketing is pervasive and can be deceptive, but engaging with them is financially unsound. In general, they aren’t a form of entertainment as they exist today.
