AGA report highlights overwhelming consumer support for legal sports betting

With SBC Events’ inaugural Betting on Sports America conference less than a month away now, it is interesting to read that the American Gaming Association (“AGA”) has unveiled new research findings on current and future sports betting behaviour that, it says, reveal “a strong consumer movement toward legal sports betting, a need for more awareness of legal markets, and consumers’ desire for secure, convenient options for wagering”.

Highlights (illustrated in an infographic that can be downloaded below) include:

  • nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they support legalizing sports betting in their state,
  • where casino sports betting is legal, only 56% are aware that is so,
  • more than 7 in 10 say it’s important to place sports bets through legal, regulated providers and it is only acceptable to use those providers,
  • only 41% of Americans know that placing a bet with a bookie is illegal, and
  • security and ease of placing bets are the top two priorities for future sports betting participation.

Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, is quoted as saying:

AGA’s research unveils new insights into this critical and growing segment of the gaming market, confirming what we’ve known for a long time: consumers want the ability to wager in safe, regulated markets. With two-thirds of states having taken steps to legalize sports betting, we’re clearly making progress to meet that demand.

UPDATE: Suzanne Davies comments on these AGA research findings in an article for SBC Americas entitled “Tackling problem gambling – what is effective?” which is the same title as the panel session that she will be moderating at the forthcoming Betting on Sports America conference in New Jersey, USA on 24 April 2019, about which you can read more here.

Download article PDF: AGA Infographic