Sports Polling
The Sharkey Institute
Americans Favor Legalized Sports Betting
Americans Favor Legalized Sports Betting, But Also Believe it Impacts the Integrity of the Games
South Orange, NJ, April 26, 2018 — By a margin of 55% – 35%, the American public favors legalized betting on sports events, according to a poll conducted this week by the Seton Hall Sports Poll.
And by a margin of 48% – 42%, those same respondents feel that legalized betting would negatively impact the integrity of sporting events. Even among those favoring legalized gambling, one of three believes that it would have a negative impact.
"It's outrageous when you think about it," noted Rick Gentile, director of the poll, which is sponsored by the Sharkey Institute. "It comes close to saying 'We don't care about the legitimacy of the games, what matters is being able to bet on them. A majority favors gambling, and by a slimmer margin think the games might be fixed as a result."
The poll was conducted over landlines and cellphones to 736 randomly selected people across the country, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%.
The poll also asked whether people feel that sports betting should be controlled by individual states, or by the federal government. (The U.S. Supreme Court is about to rule on that issue).
62% said sports gambling should be under state control, with 27% saying the federal government should control it.
Broken down by gender, men are much more inclined to support legalized betting, with 63% saying yes.
Only 47% of women favored legalized betting.
Approval fell significantly by age, with 68% support from ages 18-29, down to 37% at age 60 and over. Similarly, the support number fell based on level of education, with 71% supporting legalized gambling among those who did not finish high school, to 39% for those with post-graduate degrees.
Those who favor legalized betting think it should cover both professional and college sports by a margin of 49% – 36%.
The Official Seton Hall Sports Poll podcast discussing this topic with Seth Everett and Rick Gentile can be found at https://itunes.apple.com/mt/podcast/seton-hall-sports-poll/id1053266467.
ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
One of the country's leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership — developing students in mind, heart and spirit — since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 academic programs, Seton Hall's academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S.News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.
Seton Hall, which embraces students of all religions, prepares its graduates to be exemplary servant leaders and global citizens. Its attractive main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles by train, bus or car from New York City, offering a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. The university's nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark.
For more information, visit www.shu.edu.
About the poll:
This poll was conducted by telephone April 23-25 among 736 adults in the United States. The Seton Hall Sports Poll is conducted by the Sharkey Institute, with cell phone interviewing provided by Braun Research.
Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard landline and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been conducted regularly since 2006.
Media: Media: Marty Appel, AppelPR@gmail.com; Rick Gentile (917) 881-9489
Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall
michael.ricciardelli@shu.edu, 908-447-3034
Would you be in favor of legalized betting on sports events?
Don't know/No opinion 10
(IF NO TO ABOVE SKIP TO QUESTION 3)
Would you be in favor of betting on just professional events or should betting on collegiate events be legal as well?
Just professional 36
Both professional and collegiate 49
Do you think legalized sports betting would negatively impact the integrity of sporting events?
The US Supreme Court is about to rule on whether states should be allowed to legalize betting on sports events or whether it should be up to the federal government to decide. Do you think sports betting should be under state control or federal control?
State control 62
Federal control 27
This entry was posted in Baseball, Basketball, DFS, Fantasy Sports, Football, Gambling, General News, Poll Results, Sport and tagged Christie v. NCAA, Fantasy Sports, Gambling, MLB, NCAA, NFL, PASPA, Poll Results, Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, Seton Hall Sports Poll, Sharkey Institute, Sports Betting, Supreme Court, U.S. on April 26, 2018 by Michael Ricciardelli.
The Seton Hall Sports Poll is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute, brought to you by The Stillman School of Business, and directed by Rick Gentile – a faculty member at Seton Hall University and 10 time Emmy Award winner for his work as Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of CBS Sports.
Tweets by @HallSportsPoll
22 Percent Think Myles Garrett Suspension Should Be Permanent, 40 Percent Say NFL Got It Right with Rest of Season; Majority Say Astros Should Be Stripped of 2017 World Championship
28 Percent of Men Would Rather Their Favorite Team Win the Super Bowl or World Series Than Their Favorite Candidate Win the 2020 Presidential Election; Only 11 Percent of Women Feel the Same
MLB Perceived as Having Best Officiating Among Major Spectator Sports, Beating NFL by 64-48% Margin
NBA and China: 77% of American Public Tell Houston Rockets Owner to Keep and Defend his Tweeting GM
Nat'l Poll: 80% of Americans Support Legalized Sports Betting
Public Supports Antonio Brown Suspension, but Not as a Standard Procedure for NFL
Only 6% Say Interest in Baseball Will Decrease if Home Runs Decline
American Public Supports College Athletes Receiving Endorsement Money for 'Image and Likeness,' as Approved in California this Week
Sizeable Support for Speeding Up Baseball and Increased Scoring; A Majority Likes the Proposed 3-Batter Rule for Relievers
Poll: Equal Pay for Women's Soccer; Women's Tennis has More Followers than Men's Tennis; More Men Follow Women's Golf than Women.
Nearly 40 Percent of NCAA Tournament Viewers Will Watch Online; Twenty-two Percent of Those Who Watch Will Do so at Work
Many Think Settlement with Kaepernick is Admission of Collusion by NFL
Did Zion's Sneaker Explosion Hurt the Nike Brand? Nearly One in Five Say 'Yes'
michael ricciardelli on Interest in Super Bowl Down, Reflecting Season-long Viewing Trends
Wayne Sorensen on Interest in Super Bowl Down, Reflecting Season-long Viewing Trends
Big Mike on NFL TV Ratings Down; Fans Cite a Host of Factors, Led by National Anthem Protests
Michael Canlas on 84% Support NFL Players' Right to Protest, But Vary on How to Carry that Out; Only 16% Say Protesters Should Be Dropped from Teams
Seton Hall Student Reporting
TLTC Blogs