1 in 5 Americans thinks sports betting is an ‘investment’ — but the data says something different

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In the second quarter of 2026, bettors wagered $38.84 billion on sports, while total revenue from sports betting was $3.91 billion (1). The total amount wagered by bettors on sports represents a growth of 7.8% from 12 months earlier.

The numbers are clear: Americans are betting a lot more on sports. And although some of those gamblers may just be having fun, others see their bets as serious business.

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In fact, recent research from Bank of America (2) revealed that 1 in 5 Americans view sports betting as a type of investment. However, Gen Z is twice as likely as other generations to view sports betting this way, while baby boomers are the least likely to see gambling on sports as a type of alternative investment.

This belief may stem from the increasing gamification of investing (3), with some broker-dealers adding game-like features to their mobile investment platforms, including leaderboards, rewards and quests, and animations like falling confetti when a trade is completed.

Designed to create dopamine loops and manufacture fear of missing out, these features may encourage casual trading and blur the line between sound investments and speculative behaviors like day trading and sports betting.

While sports bettors may feel like they're investing, the numbers show this approach isn't working for many who bet their future on the big game.

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The Bank of America data suggests that sports bettors aren't doing so well with their wagers. Customers generally recover less than 75 cents out of every dollar they transfer to an online betting platform.

Meanwhile, the median deposit balances of households that participate in online betting are around 59% as large as the balances of those who don't bet online.

This data is unsurprising, given the meaningful differences between betting and investing. Most obviously, in betting, the house always wins in the long run, as sportsbooks and other games of chance generally profit because they set the odds to ensure the house is always favored.