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 BioAs the fallout from the NBA betting scandal involving Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier deepens, a new survey from YouGov shows that public confidence in athletes and the integrity of professional sports appears to be slipping.
According to the survey, which was conducted immediately after the FBI announced arrests in the match-fixing scheme, 65% of Americans believe that professional athletes alter their play in an effort to benefit those betting on sports.
How Much Do Fans Trust Players?
Not all fans have the same degree of confidence that athletes are attempting to influence game outcomes through spot-fixing or match-fixing, with some expressing more skepticism than others.
According to YouGov’s findings, 13% of Americans believe players often alter their play, 32% say sometimes, and 19% say rarely. In contrast, just 6% of respondents say that it never happens, while 29% said they weren’t sure.
When asked if they’d ever wagered on sports, 28% said they had placed a bet at some point, 68% said they had not, and 3% were unsure or preferred not to say.
Sports Bettors Report Higher Levels of Distrust
In the report, YouGov points out that the data “reveals a notable disparity in perceptions between the general US population and sports bettors regarding whether professional athletes alter their play to influence gambling outcomes, with sports bettors being more distrustful.”
When asked how often they think current professional athletes alter the way they play to help sports gamblers win bets, 38% said they think it happens “sometimes,” while 32% of non-bettors responded the same way.
By comparison, 18% of bettors said they think it happens “often” compared to 13% among non-bettors. When those saying it happens “rarely” are added to the mix, more than four-in-five sports bettors believe players are manipulating the outcomes of games to help gamblers win bets.
Legalized Betting Gets Mixed Reviews
The YouGov survey also asked Americans whether they believed legalized sports betting has a positive or negative impact on sports.
Among non-bettors, 44% of respondents said that it has had a negative impact, with just 9% saying its impact has been positive.
As far as sports bettors are concerned, 24% said the impact is positive, while 31% view it as negative, making them slightly more optimistic than the general population.
These results follow the release of an American Gaming Association survey, which found that 74% of Americans support legal, regulated sports betting, showing a clear divide between enthusiasm for betting and concern over its impact on sports integrity.
Public Perception of Sportsbooks Takes a Hit
YouGov’s BrandIndex, which measures “how proud or embarrassed the average American (aged 21+) would be to work at each sportsbook,” has dropped by 1.1 percentage points since 2024.
Among the top names in sportsbooks, bet365 still holds the top spot, despite a slight dip. FanDuel and DraftKings both dropped 3.1 points to land in negative net reputation territory, while BetMGM dropped 2.2 points year-on-year.
Trust & Reputation at Risk
The timing of this survey, coming on the heels of the high-profile arrests in the NBA case, gives us a glimpse into what the public is thinking as questions about integrity in professional sports intensify.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the integrity of the sport during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” where he called for “more regulation” of sports betting in the days before the betting scandal broke.
With only a small minority of Americans convinced that professional athletes never alter their performance for gambling gains, and almost a third unsure, public trust seems to be shaky at best.
The fact that sports bettors are the ones most likely to express skepticism suggests that those who follow sports closely may have witnessed events that raise questions about the integrity of the games they watch, or it could simply be that they’re more aware of the issues that raise questions about the integrity of professional sports.
For the sports betting industry and professional leagues alike, the data points to a growing credibility gap, serving as a reminder that their success depends as much on trust as it does on odds.
