85% of Americans Support the End of the Federal Sports Betting Ban, According to AGA Survey

License: Pexels, Free to use, Author: Tim Gouw

New research commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA) shows that a vast majority of American adults (85%) agree with the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, paving the way for state-by-state legalization of sports betting. This percentage is significantly higher than the 63% in 2019. The AGA also found that 77% of US consumers support the legalization of sports betting in their state of residence.

AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said, "American adults have always enjoyed betting on sports, and overwhelmingly value the ability to bring their action into a legal market, close to home." The AGA survey also revealed that regulated operators are attracting more users from the unlicensed sector. As many as 78% of US bettors now place all or most of their bets through regulated operators, up from 44% in 2019. Additionally, 46% of bettors that place their bets through unregulated operators plan to switch to regulated businesses within the next 12 months.

The survey results also showed that while more US adults are knowledgeable about the legality of sports betting in their state, consumer education is still needed. Many respondents were unsure about the status of the law. Among the reasons listed by users for choosing regulated over unregulated offerings are confidence in receiving payouts, trust in account security and payment options, and the availability of responsible gaming resources.

According to Miller, "The regulated industry and our partners across the entire ecosystem have made significant strides in our collaborative consumer education efforts since 2018, and we will continue to find new ways to enhance consumer protections as the market matures."