A study has provided more evidence that online sports betting is a bad bet for states.
A paper published in July 2024 titled The Financial Consequences of Legalized Sports Gambling used data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel, which contains financial information from a nationwide credit bureau.
The sample size in the sports gambling study was an astounding 7 million U.S. adults.
The data included credit scores, credit card balances, loan delinquencies, and other measures of financial health.
Researchers uncovered some bleak findings:
- 8% increase in the average amount of debt in collections per consumer due to legal online sports betting
- 28% increase in bankruptcy filing likelihood due to legal online sports betting
- 3X larger decrease in credit scores in online betting states compared to states with only retail sports betting
The study did not find a significant increase in credit card payment delinquencies because “banks are responding to the increased financial risk caused by sports betting and lowering credit card limits to mitigate potential risk exposure.”
Young Men Most Harmed
Researchers found that young men are most directly harmed by online sports betting. However, gambling addiction can severely harm many people in the orbit of the problem gambler.
Studies have shown that on average 8 to 10 people around someone with a gambling addiction can also experience harm. To advocate for victims of gambling addiction, an advocacy group called Family and Friends of Gamblers launched in October 2025.
“Legal sports gambling does worsen consumer financial health, especially so when mobile access is allowed,” with some impacts becoming even worse roughly two years after when sports gambling became legal, according to the 2024 paper.
The authors noted that taxes generated by online sports betting are fool’s gold.
“While many states may have opted for legalization with the hope of increasing tax revenue, the negative effect we document can offset tax revenue benefits as more consumers’ financial health deteriorates,” the study concluded.
Sports betting addiction rates have soared in the years following legalization.
In September 2025, a Pew gambling survey found that about half of young men think sports betting is “bad for society.”
Image via Pixabay.
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