As the gambling landscape in the US has grown in leaps and bounds over the last eight years, most Americans don’t have a moral issue with that.
According to a recent survey, Americans don’t see wagering on the Super Bowl or March Madness as morally wrong,
The Pew Research Center analysis found that of 25 countries surveyed, the US was near the top for the lowest percentage of adults who view gambling as morally wrong (29%). Only Canada had a smaller percentage at 27%.
Indonesia topped the list with 89% who see betting as unacceptable, followed by 83% in India, 71% in Italy, and 61% in Brazil.
Results Mixed By Populations Segments
Drilling into the US results more, just 20% of adults viewed gambling as morally acceptable. However, 50% believe gambling is not a moral issue at all.
When broken down by gender, men and women in the US responded about equally. Some differences were found as to ethnicity, income levels, and religious affiliation.
- Asian (45%), Hispanic (38%) and Black Americans (37%) are much more likely than White Americans (23%) to have moral objections to gambling.
- Americans with lower family incomes are more likely than those with higher incomes to see gambling as morally wrong.
- Christians (33%) are more likely than Jewish Americans (25%) and religiously unaffiliated adults (19%) to say gambling is immoral.
- Americans who say they pray daily (37%) are more likely than those who pray less often to object to gambling on moral grounds (23%).
Growing Sports Betting Landscape
The survey comes as Americans are betting more on sports than ever. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that $3.3 billion will be legally wagered on this year’s March Madness games.
“March Madness is the highlight of the college basketball season, and fans are gearing up for a month of tournament action,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said. “Fans continue to engage with legal, state- and tribal-regulated sports betting in record numbers during one of the biggest moments on the sports calendar.”
The country has seen 39 states along with Washington D.C. and the US territory of Puerto Rico legalize sports betting since the Supreme Court lifted the ban in 2018. Wisconsin looks close to legalizing online betting, and the Mississippi House passed a mobile sports betting bill in February.
