FDU Poll finds Online Betting Leads to Problems for Young Men
Online Betting Leads to Problems for Young Men
One-quarter of men under 30 bet on sports online; 10 percent of young men are problem gamblers
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ, September 19, 2024 – The legalization of online gambling and sports betting in much of the United States over the past few years has led to troubling signs of gambling problems among certain groups, especially young men. According to the latest results from FDU Poll’s recent national survey of registered voters, ten percent of men 18-30 have scores that indicate a problem gambling, compared to just 3 percent of the overall population. The survey also shows that such problems are closely related to online betting on sports and online slot machines.
“Gambling is generally marketed as entertainment, and for most gamblers it’s just that,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson, and the Executive Director of the poll. “But there’s always some chance of gambling turning into problem behaviors, and online gambling is proving to be much more dangerous than other kinds.”
Fifty-seven percent of American voters say that they’ve participate in some kind of gambling or betting behavior in the past year. Seventeen percent took part in just one form, with lottery tickets (43 percent) edging out scratch-off tickets (36 percent) as the most common forms of gambling in the country. About 18 percent say that they’ve played casino games or slot machines in person, and ten percent say that they’ve bet on sports or races online in the past year.
Among both men and women, lottery tickets and scratch-offs are the most common form of betting, but online sports betting is much more popular among men (15 percent) than women (6 percent). Online betting on sports is concentrated among young men: only 10 percent of voters say that they’ve bet on sports or racing online in the last year, but that figure is 26 percent for men under the age of 45. Online sports betting is also relatively popular among young women, with 19 percent of women 30 and under saying that they’ve bet on a game or a race in the past year. People with a college degree are much less likely to gamble at all: only 47 percent of registered voters with a college degree have gambled in any way in the past year, compared with 66 percent of those without a four-year degree.
“Sports betting has been marketed heavily to the young men who are the biggest consumers of sports,” said Cassino. “When every league is partnered with a betting site, people who like sports are going to start gambling on it.”
The survey also asked respondents to answer the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), a nine-question battery that asks about a number of indications of problem gambling behaviors (now often referred to as “gambling harm”), like borrowing money to gamble, or saying that their gambling has caused financial or emotional problems. Most voters who say that they gamble don’t report any behaviors that are signs of a gambling problem. However, 21 percent of all voters report at least one problem behavior (35 percent of those who report gambling in some form), with 15 percent of those who report gambling saying that they have one problem behavior, and 20 percent of gamblers reporting two or more.
Twenty-four percent of men report at least one problem behavior, but that figure is 45 percent for men 30 and under, and 38 percent of men 31 to 44. Only about 5 percent of men 45 and above report any such behaviors. Women are less likely to report problem behaviors – just 18 percent do – but one-third of women 30 and under (33 percent) have at least one problem behavior. As with gambling behavior generally, problem behaviors are also concentrated among Americans without a college degree (25 percent with one or more).
There are also real differences in the number of problem behaviors associated with the various forms of gambling reported. For instance, only about 1/3rd (34 percent) of voters who say that they play the lottery report any problem gambling behaviors, a figure that rises to about 40 percent of those who play scratch-offs. But online gambling is much more linked to problem behaviors: 68 percent of voters who say that they bet on sports online report at least one problem gambling behavior, and a majority (53 percent) have two or more. Eighty-one percent of voters who play online slots have at least one problem behavior, with 2/3rds having two or more; these figures are much higher than for similar games played in person.
Philip Newall, a lecturer at the University of Bristol and a member of the board that advises the UK Gambling Commission said, “These results show the severe harms that are caused when a population is exposed to modern gambling products that put a casino inside people’s mobile phones.”
Individuals are generally considered to have a problem if they have a score of 8 or above on the PGSI. Overall, about 3 percent of US voters had scores high enough to indicate a problem, but that figure varies widely by demographics, and the types of bets being made. For instance, only about 3 percent of men have PGSI scores that indicate a gambling problem, but that figure is 10 percent among men ages 18 to 30, and seven percent among women in the same age group. Older respondents in the sample were much less likely to have PGSI scores high enough to be concerning.
Online gambling is also much more closely related to high scores on the PGSI than in-person gambling. Just six percent of voters who say that they play casino games in person have scores of 8 or above on the PGSI, but that figure is 17 percent for those who bet on sports and for those who play slot machines online.
“The fact that online gambling has been normalized and gotten so common doesn’t mean that It’s safe,” said Cassino. “Online sports betting and slots are creating a generation of problem gamblers.”
The survey was conducted between August 17 and August 20, 2024, using a voter list of registered voters nationwide carried out by Braun Research of Princeton, New Jersey. Respondents were contacted via either live caller telephone interviews, or text-to-web surveys sent to cellular phones, resulting in an overall sample of 801 registered voters nationally. 520 of the surveys were carried out via live caller telephone interviews to landlines (30%) and cellphones (70%) and the remainder (281) were done on a web platform via weblinks sent via SMS to cell phones. Surveys were conducted only in English.
The data were weighted to be representative of the population of voters in the 2020 US Presidential Election, according to data from AP VoteCast. The weights used, like all weights, balance the demographic characteristics of the sample to match known population parameters. The weighted results used here are balanced to match parameters for sex, age, education and race/ethnicity.
SPSSINC RAKE, an SPSS extension module that simultaneously balances the distributions of all variables using the GENLOG procedure, was used to produce final weights. Weights were trimmed to prevent individual interviews from having too much influence on the final results. The use of these weights in statistical analysis helps to ensure that the demographic characteristics of the sample approximate the demographic characteristics of the target population. The size of these weights is used to construct the measure of design effects, which indicate the extent to which the reported results are being driven by the weights applied to the data, rather than found in the data itself. Simply put, these design effects tell us how many additional respondents would have been needed to get the weighted number of respondents across weighted categories: larger design effects indicate greater levels of under-representation in the data. In this case, calculated design effects are approximately 1.3, largely driven by the weights used on the race/ethnicity variable.
All surveys are subject to sampling error, which is the expected probable difference between interviewing everyone in a population versus a scientific sampling drawn from that population. Sampling error should be adjusted to recognize the effect of weighting the data to better match the population. In this poll, the simple sampling error for 801 registered voters is +/-3.5 percentage points, at a 95 percent confidence interval. Including the design effects, the margin of error would be +/-4.6 percentage points, though the figure not including them is much more commonly reported.
This error calculation does not take into account other sources of variation inherent in public opinion studies, such as non-response, question wording, differences in translated forms, or context effects. While such errors are known to exist, they are often unquantifiable within a particular survey, and all efforts, such as randomization and extensive pre-testing of items, have been used to minimize them.
The FDU Poll is a member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative and is devoted to ensuring that our results are presented in such a way that anyone can quickly and easily get all of the information that they may need to evaluate the validity of our surveys. We believe that transparency is the key to building trust in the work of high-quality public opinion research, and necessary to push our industry forward.
801 Registered Voters Nationally
Figures do not include individuals who declined to answer demographic items.
Man
48% N = 380
Woman
52% N = 412
Some Other Way
>1% N = 7
18-30
17% N = 136
31-44
23% N = 184
45-64
38% N = 304
65+
22% N = 176
White
67% N = 526
Black
13% N = 102
Hispanic/Latino/a
13% N = 102
Asian
4% N = 31
Other/Multi-racial
3% N = 24
No college degree
59% N = 468
College degree or more
41% N = 326
First off, we’d like to ask you a few questions about the upcoming Presidential Election
P1. Which of the following would you say are important to your vote in November? For each one, just say if you think it’s important or not.
[All respondents get five of these. One third of respondents get A-E, shuffled. Another third get 4 of A-E, in shuffled order, with F as the last one. The Last third get 4 of A-E, in shuffled order, with G as the last one]
- Foreign Policy
- Immigration Policy
- Abortion
- Climate Change
- Tax Policy
- [One third of respondents get this option] The Race or Ethnicity of the Candidate
- [One third of respondents get this option] Whether the Candidate is a Man or a Woman
P2. [Shuffle order of top candidates] In November’s Presidential election, do you intend to vote for Kamala [COMMA-lah] Harris, the Democrat, Donald Trump, the Republican, for someone else, or do you not plan on voting?
- Kamala [COMMA-lah] Harris, the Democrat
- Donald Trump, the Republican
- Someone else
- Not going to vote
- [Vol] Don’t know/ Refused
P3. In the US today, do you feel that you can openly express your social and political opinions, that you can express your opinions sometimes, or do you have to be careful not to express your opinions?
- I can only express my opinions
- I can only sometimes express my opinions
- I have to be careful not to express my opinions
- [Vol] Don’t Know/Refused
P4. How commonly do you see your views about social and political issues represented in the media?
- Often
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never
- [Vol] Don’t Know/Refused
P5. Regardless of where you get your news about politics and current events, which of these sources of information do you consider to be trustworthy?
[You can pick as many as you like]
- Local newspapers
- National Newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post
- Local TV News
- National TV News
- CNN
- MSNBC
- Fox News
- Other Cable News Channels
- Social Media
P6. Gender roles in the US have been changing rapidly, and we’d like to hear what you think about how men should act today. For each of the following statements, tell me whether you strongly agree or disagree, agree or disagree but not strongly, or have no opinion.
- Strongly Agree
- Agree
- No opinion
- Disagree
- Strongly Disagree
- [Vol] Don’t know/ Refused
- Men should watch football games instead of soap operas
- Boys should prefer to play with trucks rather than dolls.
- A man should always be the boss
- I think a young man should try to be physically tough, even if he’s not big.
- Men should not be too quick to tell others that they care about them
Switching gears a little bit, we’d like to ask you some questions about betting and gambling.
G1. Supreme Court decisions mean that many more people are gambling, especially online or with apps, than in the past. How about you? Have you spent money on any of the following activities in the last 12 months?
- Yes
- No
- [Vol] Don’t Know/Refused
- Lottery Tickets
- Scratch-off Lottery games
- Online betting on sports or racing
- Betting on sports or racing in person
- Online Casino game like poker, roulette or blackjack
- Casino game played in person
- Online Slot Machines
- Slot machines in person
G2. [Asked only to respondents who answered “yes” to one or more questions in G1: Incidence should be about 40 percent]. In the last 12 months, how often…
- Almost always
- Most of the time
- Sometimes
- Never
- [Vol] Don’t know/ Refused
- …have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?
- …have you needed to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement?
- …have you gone back to try to win back the money you’d lost?
- …have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?
- …have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?
- …have you felt that gambling has caused you any health problems, including stress or anxiety?
- …have people criticized your betting, or told you that you have a gambling problem, whether or not you thought it is true?
- …have you felt your gambling has caused financial problems for you or your household?
- …have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?
Now, we’d like to ask you a few questions about the gig economy.
DD1. Currently, there is a debate about how app-based workers, like rideshare and delivery drivers, should be treated by the government. They are currently treated as independent contractors, who can set their own hours, but aren’t subject to rules that protect employees, like minimum wage laws.
Some people say that being independent contractors gives them more flexibility to work when and how they want for multiple companies. Other people say that companies should be required to treat them as employees, which would give them some legal protections, and some benefits.
What do you think? Should app-based workers be considered as independent contractors, like they are now, or should companies be required to treat them as employees?
- Independent contractors
- Employees
- [Vol] Not Sure/Don’t Know
- [Vol] Refused
DD2. Because they are independent contractors, app-based workers don’t have access to benefits, like health insurance and retirement plans, that employees often get. There have been proposals to require companies to put some money into flexible benefit accounts which would let many of these workers get such benefits without being classified as employees. Would you support or oppose such proposals?
- Support requiring companies to establish such benefit accounts
- Oppose requiring companies to establish such benefit accounts
- [Vol] Not Sure/Don’t Know
- [Vol] Refused
DD3. Given the option of these flexible benefit accounts, how do you think the government should treat app-based workers that are currently treated as independent contractors? If you had to choose one, do you think that they should:
- Remain independent contractors
- Remain independent contractors, but that companies should be required to put money into flexible benefit accounts
- Be classified as employees
- [Vol] Not Sure/Don’t Know
- [Vol] Refused
Just a few more questions, for statistical purposes
D1. In politics today, do you consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or something else?
- Democrat
- Republican
- Independent [ASK D1A]
- Something Else/Other
- DK/Ref [vol]
D1A. [Ask only if D1 is 3] Which way do you lean?
- Democrat
- Republican
- Independent
- Something Else/Other
- DK/Ref [vol]
D1B. In addition, which of the following terms would you use to describe your political views? You can choose as many as you like. [Shuffle Order]
- Liberal
- Moderate
- Conservative
- Socialist
- Progressive
- Libertarian
- Make America Great Again or MAGA
- Nationalist
D2A. To ensure we are reaching people of all ages, would you please tell me your age?
____ (ENTER AGE: 98=98+, 99 = REFUSED)
[IF Don’t Know/REFUSED IN QD1, ASK:]
D2B. Would you be willing to tell us whether it’s between…?
- Under 30
- 31 to 44
- 45 to 64
- 65 or over
- [Refused]
D3. What was the last grade in school you completed? [CODE TO LIST]
- Did not complete High School
- High School Diploma or equivalent
- Vocational or Trade School
- Some college, but no degree
- Associates, or other 2 year degree
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Graduate work, such as Law, MBA, Medical School, or similar
- Refused (VOL)
D4. How would you describe your sex? Do you describe yourself as …
- A Man
- A Woman
- Some other way
- [DK/REF]
D5. How would you describe your racial and ethnic background? You can pick as many as you’d like.
- White
- Black
- Asian
- Hispanic/Latino/a/Spanish
- Other or Multi-Racial
- [Dk/Ref]
Have you ever used financial trading programs or apps, like RobinHood or ETrade to buy and sell stocks, options, forex or cryptocurrency on your own, without using a broker or financial advisor?
- Yes
- No
- [Vol] Don’t Know/Refused
D6. Have you ever owned any cryptocurrency, NFTs, or other similar digital products? It’s fine if you don’t know what those are.
- Yes
- No
- Don’t know what those are
- [Refused]
D7. The traits that we see as being masculine or feminine are largely determined by society, and have changed dramatically over time. As a result, everyone has some combination of masculine and feminine traits, which may or may not correspond with whether they’re male or female. How do you see yourself? Would you say that you see yourself as…
- Completely Masculine
- Mostly Masculine
- Slightly Masculine
- Slightly Feminine
- Mostly Feminine
- Completely Feminine
- [Dk/Ref]
Thanks so much for your participation – you’ll see the results in the news in the next few weeks
|
Gambling Activities Reported |
|||
|
|
All |
Men |
Women |
|
Lottery Tickets |
43% |
46% |
40% |
|
Scratch-Offs |
36% |
37% |
35% |
|
Online Sports Betting |
10% |
15% |
6% |
|
In Person Sports Betting |
7% |
9% |
5% |
|
Online Casino Games |
7% |
10% |
5% |
|
In Person Casino Games |
17% |
19% |
15% |
|
Online Slot Machines |
7% |
8% |
6% |
|
In Person Slot Machines |
19% |
19% |
18% |
|
Some Other Form |
1% |
1% |
0% |
|
Gambling Activities Reported |
|||
|
|
All |
No Degree |
College Degree |
|
Lottery Tickets |
43% |
48% |
35% |
|
Scratch-Offs |
36% |
44% |
25% |
|
Online Sports Betting |
10% |
13% |
6% |
|
In Person Sports Betting |
7% |
8% |
6% |
|
Online Casino Games |
7% |
9% |
6% |
|
In Person Casino Games |
17% |
20% |
13% |
|
Online Slot Machines |
7% |
9% |
4% |
|
In Person Slot Machines |
19% |
24% |
11% |
|
Some Other Form |
1% |
1% |
1% |
|
Gambling Activities Reported |
|||||
|
|
All |
Men 18-30 |
Men 31-44 |
Men 45-64 |
Men 65+ |
|
Lottery Tickets |
43% |
39% |
48% |
49% |
44% |
|
Scratch-Offs |
36% |
46% |
44% |
32% |
29% |
|
Online Sports Betting |
10% |
26% |
26% |
10% |
1% |
|
In Person Sports Betting |
7% |
16% |
13% |
5% |
4% |
|
Online Casino Games |
7% |
18% |
14% |
7% |
3% |
|
In Person Casino Games |
17% |
28% |
22% |
17% |
11% |
|
Online Slot Machines |
7% |
14% |
12% |
5% |
1% |
|
In Person Slot Machines |
19% |
23% |
26% |
16% |
12% |
|
Some Other Form |
1% |
0% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
|
Gambling Activities Reported |
|||||
|
|
All |
Women 18-30 |
Women 31-44 |
Women 45-64 |
Women 65+ |
|
Lottery Tickets |
43% |
48% |
49% |
42% |
24% |
|
Scratch-Offs |
36% |
46% |
47% |
32% |
22% |
|
Online Sports Betting |
10% |
19% |
4% |
3% |
2% |
|
In Person Sports Betting |
7% |
18% |
5% |
3% |
2% |
|
Online Casino Games |
7% |
19% |
6% |
3% |
– |
|
In Person Casino Games |
17% |
19% |
20% |
12% |
13% |
|
Online Slot Machines |
7% |
14% |
9% |
4% |
1% |
|
In Person Slot Machines |
19% |
21% |
23% |
17% |
16% |
|
Some Other Form |
1% |
2% |
– |
1% |
– |
|
Number of Gambling Activities |
|||||
|
|
All |
Men 18-30 |
Men 31-44 |
Men 45-64 |
Men 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
29% |
35% |
41% |
51% |
|
One Activity |
17% |
13% |
10% |
18% |
19% |
|
Two Activities |
19% |
25% |
19% |
21% |
15% |
|
Three or More Activities |
22% |
32% |
36% |
21% |
15% |
|
Number of Gambling Activities |
|||||
|
|
All |
Women 18-30 |
Women 31-44 |
Women 45-64 |
Women 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
26% |
39% |
45% |
63% |
|
One Activity |
17% |
21% |
14% |
21% |
16% |
|
Two Activities |
19% |
23% |
15% |
21% |
13% |
|
Three or More Activities |
22% |
31% |
31% |
14% |
9% |
|
Number of Gambling Activities |
|||||
|
|
All |
No Degree |
College Degree |
Men |
Women |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
34% |
53% |
39% |
45% |
|
One Activity |
17% |
18% |
15% |
16% |
18% |
|
Two Activities |
19% |
20% |
17% |
20% |
18% |
|
Three or More Activities |
22% |
28% |
14% |
26% |
19% |
|
Number of Gambling Activities |
||||
|
|
All |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
45% |
36% |
33% |
|
One Activity |
17% |
19% |
12% |
13% |
|
Two Activities |
19% |
17% |
22% |
23% |
|
Three or More Activities |
22% |
18% |
30% |
32% |
|
Gambling Activities Reported |
||||
|
|
All |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
|
Lottery Tickets |
43% |
41% |
44% |
52% |
|
Scratch-Offs |
36% |
32% |
43% |
45% |
|
Online Sports Betting |
10% |
7% |
15% |
17% |
|
In Person Sports Betting |
7% |
5% |
9% |
12% |
|
Online Casino Games |
7% |
7% |
10% |
13% |
|
In Person Casino Games |
17% |
13% |
22% |
18% |
|
Online Slot Machines |
7% |
7% |
11% |
7% |
|
In Person Slot Machines |
19% |
14% |
31% |
26% |
|
Some Other Form |
1% |
1% |
– |
1% |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
|||||
|
|
All |
No Degree |
College Degree |
Men |
Women |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
34% |
53% |
39% |
45% |
|
No Problem Behaviors |
37% |
41% |
33% |
37% |
38% |
|
One Problem Behavior |
9% |
9% |
8% |
9% |
9% |
|
Two or More Behaviors |
12% |
16% |
6% |
15% |
9% |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
|||||
|
|
All |
Men 18-30 |
Men 31-44 |
Men 45-64 |
Men 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
29% |
35% |
41% |
51% |
|
No Problem Behaviors |
37% |
26% |
27% |
45% |
42% |
|
One Problem Behavior |
9% |
16% |
12% |
6% |
4% |
|
Two or More Behaviors |
12% |
29% |
26% |
9% |
3% |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
|||||
|
|
All |
Women 18-30 |
Women 31-44 |
Women 45-64 |
Women 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
26% |
39% |
45% |
63% |
|
No Problem Behaviors |
37% |
41% |
35% |
45% |
29% |
|
One Problem Behavior |
9% |
7% |
15% |
5% |
8% |
|
Two or More Behaviors |
12% |
26% |
12% |
5% |
– |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
||||
|
|
Lottery |
Scratch-Off |
Online Sports |
In Person Sports |
|
No Problem Behaviors |
66% |
59% |
32% |
35% |
|
One Problem Behavior |
15% |
17% |
15% |
22% |
|
Two or More Behaviors |
19% |
23% |
53% |
43% |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
||||
|
|
Online Casino |
In Person Casino |
Online Slots |
In Person Slots |
|
No Problem Behaviors |
28% |
50% |
18% |
48% |
|
One Problem Behavior |
15% |
25% |
15% |
21% |
|
Two or More Behaviors |
56% |
25% |
67% |
32% |
|
Meets or Exceeds 8 on PGSI scale |
|||||
|
|
All |
No Degree |
College Degree |
Men |
Women |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
34% |
54% |
39% |
46% |
|
Less than 8 on PGSI |
55% |
62% |
45% |
58% |
52% |
|
8 or above on PGSI |
3% |
4% |
1% |
3% |
2% |
|
Meets or Exceeds 8 on PGSI scale |
|||||
|
|
All |
Men 18-30 |
Men 31-44 |
Men 45-64 |
Men 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
30% |
35% |
41% |
51% |
|
Less than 8 on PGSI |
55% |
60% |
60% |
59% |
49% |
|
8 or above on PGSI |
3% |
10% |
5% |
1% |
– |
|
Meets or Exceeds 8 on PGSI scale |
|||||
|
|
All |
Women 18-30 |
Women 31-44 |
Women 45-64 |
Women 65+ |
|
No Gambling Reported |
42% |
27% |
39% |
45% |
62% |
|
Less than 8 on PGSI |
55% |
66% |
60% |
52% |
38% |
|
8 or above on PGSI |
3% |
7% |
1% |
3% |
– |
|
Problem Behaviors Reported |
||||
|
|
Lottery |
Scratch-Off |
Online Sports |
In Person Sports |
|
Less than 8 on PGSI |
95% |
95% |
83% |
87% |
|
8 or above on PGSI |
5% |
5% |
17% |
13% |
|
Meets or Exceeds 8 on PGSI scale |
||||
|
|
Online Casino |
In Person Casino |
Online Slots |
In Person Slots |
|
Less than 8 on PGSI |
86% |
94% |
83% |
91% |
|
8 or above on PGSI |
14% |
6% |
17% |
9% |
Dan Cassino
Executive Director, FDU Poll
973.896.7072/ dcassino@fdu.edu