New Survey Reveals Sports Fans Are Betting Big This Football Season

It should come as no surprise that football season is the most common time for sports betting. The NFL and college football are both extremely popular in the U.S., and with online sports betting becoming more commonplace, casual and hardcore fans alike have enjoyed conveniently backing their favorite teams right from their smartphones.

A new survey has revealed some of the deeper numbers from the modern sports betting industry, and some of the data is pretty surprising. In fact, it appears that while a fairly small percentage of sports fans actually engage in wagering, those that do dedicate quite a bit of funds to the pastime. Here’s what you need to know about the LendingTree survey results and what it means for the sports betting industry going forward.

Survey Reveals Sports Bettors Are Opening Their Wallets

A recent survey from financial company LendingTree has yielded some interesting data around sports wagering and fantasy sports. One of the most interesting takeaways from the survey is the amount of fans that place real money on fantasy sports and sports betting. While 7% of sports fans get financially involved in fantasy sports, 8% place real money wagers on sporting events.

Considering the apparent popularity of online sports betting, retail sports betting, fantasy sports leagues, and daily fantasy sports contests, these numbers seem a bit low. However, the small percentage of fans that are financially involved in sports place quite a bit of money.

Of those that responded to the survey, 33% claim they will spend at least $1,000 on sports wagering and/or fantasy sports throughout the fall season. Plus, 3% said that they will allot at least $3,000 this fall.

Survey Reveals Further Sports Spending Numbers

Sports wagering wasn’t the only focus of the LendingTree survey, as it went deeper into how fans use money on different events. According to Casino.org, in one way or another, U.S. citizens are planning on spending $664 this fall on sports. In addition to fantasy sports and placing bets, this includes sports team apparel, tailgate supplies, and going to sporting events.

In terms of events, 8% of respondents also planned on heading to Las Vegas for at least one game. This makes sense considering the popularity of both the Las Vegas Raiders (who play at Allegiant Stadium) and Vegas Golden Knights (who play home games at T-Mobile Arena). Additionally, the city is looking to host more events in the next year, such as a Formula 1 race as well as some college basketball games during March Madness.

Fall 2022 Numbers Should Be Interesting

Once the total fall sports betting handle for the year is revealed, it should be interesting. Fall sees the NFL regular season, college football regular season, and World Series playoffs and championship. Plus, October sees the start of both the NHL and NBA, as well as the beginning of the NCAA basketball season.

Additionally, this is the first fall season where states such as New York, Kansas, and Louisiana fully allow online sports betting. Fall 2023 should continue to intrigue, as Ohio is launching sports wagering on New Year’s Day while Massachusetts and Maryland attempt to roll out the sports betting market.