Delete your gambling apps if you want to find or stay in love, a new survey on red flags in romantic relationships suggests.
Few people will be surprised that Americans increasingly see excessive gambling as a gigantic warning sign when choosing a romantic partner. Americans lost a record $27 billion on state-sanctioned online gambling in 2025.
Nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) identified excessive gambling or risk-taking as the biggest financial red flags in a relationship, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, published in July.
Gambling ranked higher than hiding or lying about purchases (cited by 47%) and carrying high credit card debt (cited by 41%). These three behaviors, of course, often overlap.
The poll results come from an online Harris Poll survey conducted for Northwestern Mutual involving 4,375 U.S. adults.
Why it Matters
The findings suggest gambling can have consequences when trying to find a partner.
Sixty percent of Americans surveyed said poor money habits are a “dealbreaker” in a new relationship, with gambling being a leading bad habit.
Among Gen Z couples, many of whom don’t yet have families, 41% said arguments about money are already putting a serious strain on their relationships.
“With online prediction markets, sports betting, and cryptocurrencies, high-risk financial assets are now accessible in just a few clicks,” Northwestern Mutual Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Sippel said. “Done in excess, people risk losing more than money – they can lose their partner’s trust.”
Toxicity of Online Gambling
Online gambling, whether on sports or casino games like slots, bingo, or roulette, can greatly undermine relationships at any stage. One recent survey found that 60% of online sports bettors chase their losses, a core sign of a gambling problem.
For married couples, research has linked gambling to a greater risk of divorce.
Northwestern Mutual found that 17% of U.S. adults were either participating in sports betting or prediction markets or considering doing so in 2026.
Prediction markets, which sometimes promote a “gamble-on-everything” culture, can be especially ruinous socially and financially.
That participation figure climbed to 32% among Gen Z adults and 24% among Millennials, compared with 10% of Gen X and just 3% of Baby Boomers and older adults.
Bottom Line
Couples or potential couples often place enormous importance on the handling of money.
For many people, financial compatibility is of utmost importance to maintaining a successful long-term relationship.
In an era of 24/7 online gambling access, the findings suggest that people don’t easily brush off excessive gambling. For nearly half of Americans, it is a red flag in a relationship that could be a deal breaker.
The silver lining to the poll’s findings may be that awareness of gambling-related harm is improving.
