Personal finance celebrity Dave Ramsey opposes gambling, especially online gambling. He says gambling causes debt and financial harm.
Ramsey, who hosts a regularly held talk show, has gone viral numerous times in the social media era for his anti-gambling comments. His most recent viral moment came in January 2026 when he called online sports betting “evil” and said FanDuel Sportsbook was a “portal to hell.”
“The fastest growing addiction that is destroying young men in their 20s is online sports gambling,” Ramsey said in early 2026. “FanDuel is a portal to hell. DraftKings ain’t king of nothing except their own pocketbook. And they’re screwing an entire generation of young men, because you don’t win. That’s why they can afford to buy ads… they’re back-to-back-to-back ads, every time you turn on a sporting event. They’re spending billions of dollars. You know where they’re getting that? It’s out of your kid’s freaking pocket. This is evil stuff right here.”
Ramsey is known for his conservative politics. He isn’t the first conservative commentator to vocally oppose sports betting. In 2025, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham publicly opposed the betting app industry.
Data Supporting Ramsey’s Anti-Sports Betting Stance
Research has shown that legal online sports betting:
- causes problems for about half of users.
- hurts the financial health of households.
- could diminish homeownership.
- is linked to higher crime rates.
- is deeply polarizing among Americans.
Ramsey has conservative social views that many Americans do not share, and those are intertwined with his position on sports betting. However, he also opposes the betting industry from a data perspective.
What Does Dave Ramsey Say About Gambling?
Dave Ramsey has spent decades warning Americans about debt and the behaviors he sees as undermining long-term wealth creation. Gambling has consistently been one of his targets.
Since rising to national prominence in the 1990s, Ramsey has repeatedly framed gambling as incompatible with household and personal financial responsibility.
Ramsey opposes all forms of gambling, taking aim at lotteries, casinos, sports betting, and poker over the years.
‘Gambling Is a Tax on the Poor’
One of Ramsey’s most cited lines is his description of state lotteries as a “tax on the poor and the mathematically challenged.” There is some truth to his perspective.
He has argued that lotteries disproportionately extract money from lower-income households while being promoted as harmless entertainment or a path to opportunity.
This framing has appeared regularly in his radio segments, books, and public talks.
He also says playing the lottery is “stupid.”
Dave Ramsey and Sports Betting
As casino gambling expanded across the U.S. in the 2000s and 2010s, Ramsey maintained a hardline stance. On his show, callers frequently ask whether gambling can be done “responsibly.”
Ramsey’s answer is almost always no. He stresses that the house always wins.
With the legalization of sports betting after 2018, Ramsey extended the same criticism to betting apps. He has warned that mobile sports betting combines gambling risk with 24/7/365 accessibility, increasing chances of financial harm.
Criticism of Ramsey’s Gambling Comments
One main criticism of Ramsey is that he has a blunt and harsh delivery and shows little empathy. As a conservative, he places huge emphasis on individual responsibility as opposed to a conception of society.
Some of the language he uses when talking about gambling can be stigmatizing. No one is stupid or lacks intelligence for falling prey to a gambling addiction.
Stigmatizing language can make it harder for people to quit gambling and seek treatment.
Ramsey says he loves capitalism and only targets specific industries. He neglects criticism of broader economic exploitation. In this regard, he often exhibits mere nostalgia for the past and doesn’t offer much in the way of how to make the future better for society as a whole.
Furthermore, Ramsey can understate the gambling risks that women face. His recent sports betting comments were aimed at men, despite women also being affected either directly or indirectly.
Ramsey is also very wealthy, and so his advice can feel preachy and out of touch to working-class people.
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