The Big Dawgs

What is The Big Dawgs?

Top non-lottery activities during the period included scratchcards (13%), betting (10%) and online instant win games (8%). 

Betting skewed male, with 16% of men gambling on betting compared to 4% of women. Age-wise, overall gambling participation peaked among 45- to 64-year-olds (56%-59%), when excluding lotteries the highest participation was among 35- to 44-year-olds (35%). 

Respondents cited motivations predominantly as seeking large winnings and entertainment, while 42% reported positive feelings about their most recent gambling expenditure. 

About The Big Dawgs

“The two [concerns] are the integrity of athletic competition, and how that could potentially be impacted by a proliferation of legalized sports wagering. And then the second is really the health and well-being of student athletes.“

Stevenson added that the NCAA is determined to keep local student organisations informed of key regulations. 

“Even though we are seeing legalization of sports wagering, it is still a violation of NCAA rules. I do think people and member institutions really need to make sure that their student athletes are aware, so that they don’t walk themselves into any kind of issues,” she said.

About The Big Dawgs

“Nearly half of all respondents (45%) say they’ve borrowed money to place sports bets, with 13% taking out a personal loan to bankroll their betting and 11% securing funds through a high-interest payday loan,” the report continued.

Many sports bettors are unfazed by the high-stakes financial reality of gambling on sports.

U.S. News reported that only 17% conceded sports betting is negatively affecting their financial health. By contrast, twice as many respondents (34%) claimed gambling on professional and college sports has had a positive impact on their finances. About half (49%) reported that sports betting has not impacted their bank accounts either way.