AGA legalisation research Rev_Public AGA National Poll Memo 042417 FINAL (1)

April 24, 2017
Legalizing Sports Betting: A Winning Wager
To: American Gaming Association
From: Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
Support for expanded sports betting has gained traction in recent years in the legal
system and among key stakeholders including league officials and elected officials. A
national survey of American adults 1 confirms that this momentum extends to the public
as well: by a 20-point margin, Americans support changing PASPA to allow individual
states to decide whether or not to legalize sports betting in their own state.
Support for legalization extends across lines of party, race, gender, and geography, and
includes both sports fans, who enthusiastically support legalization, and non-sports
fans, a plurality of whom support changing the law.
The AGA and its allies can draw upon other positive takeaways from this survey as well:




Sports betting is increasingly common; it is not a fringe activity
Betting on sports increases bettors’ enjoyment and engagement with games
If it were legal, more Americans would bet on sports
A majority of Americans see clear positive consequences of legalizing sports
betting: increased revenue for communities and increased safety for bettors
Robust Support for Legalization
Few Americans are familiar with the legal environment for sports betting: only 38
percent recognize that it is not legal in most of the nation. And when given the option, a
majority embrace changing the law so that each individual state could decide whether or
not to allow sports betting in their own state (a proposal we shorthand as ‘legalization’ in
this memo). This coalition of supporters is led by sports fans – and especially existing
sports bettors – but contains Americans of all stripes. More specifically:
1
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research conducted a mixed-mode survey from January 24-30, 2017. The
sample consisted of 1200 adults over the phone and an oversample of 400 avid sports fans online. Thirty
percent of telephone interviews were conducted on cell phones. The survey carries an overall margin of
error of +/- 2.45 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval; margin of error is larger among subgroups.
WORLD HEADQUARTERS
10 G Street, NE, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002
NEW YORK
25 Broadway, 9 th Floor
New York, NY 10004
EUROPE
3 Waterhouse Square
138 Holborn
London, UK EC1N 2SW
www.gqrr.com | www.greenbergresearch.com
CANADA
350-1 First Canadian Place
Toronto Board of Trade Tower
Toronto, ON M5K 1C1