The impact of advertising on young people’s gambling behaviour is significant. A recent NCAA study found that 58% of young people between the ages of 18 and 22 had participated in at least one sports betting activity. In addition, 67% of students living on campus were bettors, a figure that is higher than the general population. The study also revealed that mobile betting was the preferred platform for 28% of young people, with in-game live betting being the most popular type of betting for those accessing sportsbooks or apps.
Moreover, advertising has proven to have a significant impact on young people’s decision to gamble. The study found that 63% of students on campus remembered seeing a gambling ad, and 58% said they were more likely to bet after seeing one. Additionally, 16% of respondents said they had engaged in risky gambling, with 6% having lost more than US$500 in a single day. A worrying 70% of these risky gamblers believed that continuing sports gambling would increase their financial income.
The Northeastern United States has the highest percentage of bettors at 61%, while the Western United States has the lowest percentage at 54%. However, this difference is not reflective of state legality or age limits as participation rates are about the same in areas where gambling is legal and where it’s illegal.
The report noted that college students who bet on sports often placed bets on their school teams, with 35% using student bookmakers. The rise in sports betting comes as no surprise as U.S. sportsbook revenue hit a record $7.5 billion in 2022, up 75% from 2021, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). Flutter, which owns the FanDuel brand, expects the total revenue to reach $7.5 billion in 2022. The addressable U.S. gaming market is expected to be worth over US$40 billion by 2030.
The NCAA believes that it has a role to play in minimizing problem gambling. Clint Hangebrauk, the NCAA’s managing director of enterprise risk management, said, “We have strong relationships with industry experts in this area, and we have a wide range of resources, from integrity monitoring to mental health resources. We are constantly communicating about issues.”