From football and basketball to hockey and baseball, Americans love countless sports. While many people spend hours on end cheering for their favorite teams as they play, plenty of non-fans have also become active viewers. Although many of these people are still sports fans, they're widening their viewership to watching specific games to see if their sports bets hit.

At Sudoku Bliss, we know the excitement of a challenge. Whether it's completing a difficult Sudoku puzzle, beating your best time, or seeing a prediction pay off, people enjoy testing their skills and celebrating a win. Unfortunately, with some games, big wins also means there can be big losses. That’s why we set out to learn more about the state of sports betting on mobile apps in the U.S. To do this, we surveyed people across the country and asked about their sports betting habits.

We asked a variety of questions about how often they place bets, how much money they’ve bet in the past year, how much they’ve lost during that time, what sports they bet on most often, and more. Read on to learn more about Americans’ experiences with betting apps.

Key Takeaways

• 57% of Americans who bet on sports today did not gamble on sporting events before mobile betting apps existed.
• More than half of Americans have placed another bet to try to recover money they had lost.
• More than 1 in 4 Americans have worried they might be addicted to sports betting, rising to 1 in 3 among bettors under 28.
• Nearly half of Americans rarely or never check their betting app history, transactions, or account statements.
• 77% say they are down, even, or not sure about their sports-betting status over the past year.
• Nearly 2 in 5 Americans have been surprised by how much they had spent or lost after checking their statements.
• Nearly half of Americans say wins make their losses feel less noticeable.
• Americans are 1.5x more likely to say they are down (35%) than up (23%).

A Look Inside Americans’ Sports Bets

Mobile betting apps have changed who bets, not just how. Now, 57% of Americans who bet on sports say they didn't gamble on sporting events at all before these apps existed. Today it’s easier than ever to place bets on a range of different games across whichever sports leagues you want.

Overall, we discovered that once people start, plenty of them keep at it. Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (29%) place a bet at least once a week, and a smaller group is in it every day (8%). That daily habit skews heavily male as men are nearly 3 times as likely as women to bet at least once a day (11% vs. 4%).

After learning how often Americans bet, we wanted to know how they think it's going. More say they're down (35%) than up (23%), a gap that makes bettors roughly 1.5 times more likely to feel underwater than ahead. Similarly, 77% say they are down, even, or not sure about their sports betting status over the past year.

Next, we wanted to learn which sports leagues are drawing bettors in the most. Leading the way as the league people bet on most is the NFL, with more than half of Americans (57%) placing a bet on pro football in the past year. Professional sports league bets don’t end at football, however, as the NBA ranks second (49%) followed by the MLB (26%).

To our surprise, college sports pull their weight too, with nearly 1 in 4 Americans (24%) betting on college football, claiming fourth for the most popular league people bet on. Rounding out the top five is another college sport as nearly 1 in 5 Americans say they placed a bet on college basketball games in the past year.

Why Bettors Struggle to Track Spending

While betting has gotten easier, many Americans feel that keeping track of it has gotten harder. Part of the problem is that most people aren't watching the numbers closely. The most commonly tracked figure is net profit or loss, and even that only gets regular attention from 41% of people.

Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) say they don't regularly track anything at all. When people do track, they lean toward their wins (38%) over their losses (28%), which paints a rosier picture than the full ledger would.

After seeing how loosely Americans monitor their betting, we wanted to understand what makes it so slippery. The top culprit is volume as 52% say frequent small bets add up quickly without them noticing. Close behind, 48% say their wins make their losses feel less noticeable, so a few good nights can quietly cover for a worse month.

It also shows up in how rarely people check in, as we discovered that nearly half of Americans (48%) say they rarely or never look at their betting app history, transactions, or account statements. When they finally do check their statements, more than 1 in 3 (37%) have been surprised by how much they'd spent or lost.

These blind spots carry consequences. More than half of Americans (52%) have placed another bet to try to win back money they'd already lost, a pattern known as chasing. And the worry runs deeper than dollars as more than 1 in 4 (27%) have wondered whether they might be addicted to sports betting. Among bettors under 28, that climbs to 1 in 3.

Find New Ways to Win with Sudoku

Like most things in life, sports betting can be fine in moderation. The issue arises when placing bets becomes more important than being financially responsible. While the creation of mobile sports-betting apps makes it easier than ever to place and track bets, it’s crucial to keep an eye on your transaction history and account statements to ensure you remain responsible.

If you are looking for new ways to win that don’t impact your bank account, the team at Sudoku Bliss is here to help. Whether you want to keep things simple with an easy or medium puzzle or you are seeking a challenge with an expert or evil puzzle, you can enjoy a game of Sudoku anywhere, any time.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn about Americans’ experiences with mobile sports-betting apps. To do this, we surveyed people across the country and asked how often they place bets on these apps. We also asked about the sports respondents bet on most often, how much they have spent in the past year, how much they earned, how much they lost, aspects of betting that make it difficult to track spending, and more.