Online Sports Bettors Report Higher Rates of Missed Payments Than In-Person Bettors

Online sports bettors were 15 times more likely to report missing a bill payment than in-person bettors, according to a new Urban Institute report released July 9, 2026. The survey compared betting habits and financial outcomes of more than 320 participants and found online gamblers had faced greater financial challenges in the prior 12 months.

Online gamblers were twice as likely to say they had saved less money than they otherwise would have.

Twelve percent of sports gamblers overall reported saving less due to gambling, with higher rates among those earning below $50,000 and those ages 18 to 29. Seven percent of online gamblers reported betting daily, compared with zero percent of in-person bettors. Twenty-eight percent of online gamblers said they bet weekly and 23 percent said they bet monthly.

Fifty-five percent of all sports bettors said they wagered less than $100 in the previous 12 months, while 11 percent said they bet more than $1,000. Seventy-one percent of sports bettors said they had placed a single-game bet in the last year. Sixty-seven percent said they primarily gamble to win money.

Americans spent $167 billion on sports bets in 2025, up from $57 billion in 2021. Sens. Adam Schiff and John Curtis introduced bipartisan legislation in March 2026 that would bar prediction markets from processing sports-related wagers.

Kentucky passed a law raising the minimum betting age from 18 to 21.