Lynnae is a journalist covering the intersection of technology, culture, and gambling. She has more than five years of experience as a writer and editor, with bylines at SlashGear and MakeUseOf. On the iGaming side,...
Read Full BioThe rapid expansion of legalized sports betting in the United States is undermining the integrity of sporting events and could result in game fixing, according to a clear majority of Americans surveyed in a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll conducted in late November and early December.
Since the poll was carried out several weeks after the betting scandals first broke, it provides a snapshot of how public concern about sports betting and game integrity has persisted in the aftermath of the initial revelations.
The poll arrives as sports leagues continue to deal with the fallout from betting scandals that have rocked the sports world in recent months, including allegations that NBA and MLB players used inside information to influence betting outcomes.
The findings highlight the skepticism of the sports-watching public as leagues continue to grapple with the consequences of player-level betting markets, such as prop bets and micro-markets tied to individual actions, which have been at the center of the recent federal cases.
Public Concern Over Sports Betting & Fair Play Runs Deep
When asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “Sports betting lessens the integrity of the game,” 34% of respondents said they strongly agreed, while 36% said they somewhat agreed. In contrast, 22% said they somewhat disagreed, and only 8% said they strongly disagreed.
The poll found that respondents were concerned about game manipulation and the fairness of the sporting events they were watching, with 63% of those surveyed saying they were either very concerned (29%) or somewhat concerned (34%) that the increased availability of sports betting could lead to games being fixed or rigged.
NBC reported that the level of concern varied based on the education level of those surveyed. 82% of respondents with graduate degrees said sports betting harms integrity, compared with 60% among those with a high school education or less. The results also differed based on gender, with 75% of men saying they worried about integrity issues linked to betting compared to 65% of women.
The survey polled 20,252 U.S. adults between November 20 and December 8, with a margin of error of ±1.9 percentage points.
Poll Adds to Growing Evidence of Integrity Concerns
The NBC Decision Desk poll isn’t the first survey to find that Americans have lost faith in the integrity of professional sports since the NBA betting scandal came to light earlier this year.
A recent YouGov survey found that 65% of Americans believe professional athletes sometimes or often alter how they play to benefit bettors, with sports bettors themselves expressing higher levels of skepticism than non-bettors.
Meanwhile, a Quinnipiac University survey reported that one-third of Americans believe NBA players and coaches are involved in illegal betting-related activity, and nearly half said they lacked confidence in the fairness of NBA games.
Another poll from Sacred Heart University and GreatBlue Research found that a large majority of sports bettors (79.1%) had lost confidence in the NBA since the scandals were first reported, with 75% believing misconduct is more widespread than the current investigations suggest.
Examining all these polls together, it’s clear that professional sports are facing a credibility crisis. And the leagues are responding, with MLB and major sportsbooks agreeing to place a $200 limit on micro bets, and the NBA proposing policy changes to lessen the impact of inside information, including tightening the rules around injury reporting and prop betting.
