One question that often comes up in my sports media classes is, “Does anyone bet on sports?” Most of the hands shoot up in whatever lecture hall of 100 students I’m in. The first few times I saw this I was genuinely surprised. I wasn’t oblivious, and I'm familiar with the ins and outs of sports betting, but seeing how popular it's become among people my age was eye-opening. What once felt like something reserved for Las Vegas sportsbooks or a March Madness bracket has become part of everyday sports culture.
Odds are discussed as casually as injuries, and betting websites including DraftKings and Underdog Fantasy plaster the spread onto every broadcast. This shift has fundamentally changed sports, prioritizing profit and gambling engagement over fan enjoyment, competitiveness, integrity and the shared experience that once defined being a sports fan.
A 2023 NCAA survey found that 58% of college-age students have participated in at least one sports betting activity. This doesn’t even account for the fact that only 40 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized some form of sports betting, and only 32 have legalized online sports betting.
Though I don’t bet on sports, I check the odds almost daily. It’s the unavoidable cost of being a fan when odds are pushed so heavily across apps, broadcasts and social media. But that’s exactly the problem. What starts as a casual curiosity can quickly shift the focus away from the game itself.
Instead of asking who’s playing well or what a win would mean for a team's season, attention drifts to point spreads, over-unders and whether a game-winning shot “covers.” This takes away from the competitive and storytelling nature of sports. Rather, sports start feeling like financial calculation, quietly reshaping how fans experience the moment.
Sports betting has also contributed to a rise in gambling addiction, particularly among young adults. According to UC San Diego Today, when online sportsbooks became available searches for help-seeking services for gambling addictions surged 61%.
The accessibility of betting apps allows users to place wagers instantly, often with promotions that make the first bet “risk-free.” These bets aren’t truly risk-free. When you lose a wager, the money is rarely refunded in cash; instead, it's added to your account as site credit to wager again.
Because it feels like there’s little immediate sense of loss after the first bet, the behavior is reinforced, encouraging users to keep betting rather than stepping away. These incentives are intentionally designed to keep people coming back, blurring the line between entertainment and addiction.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which legalized sports betting, multiple leagues have faced high-profile betting scandals. In 2022, four NFL players — Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry of the Indianapolis Colts, free agent Demetrius Taylor and Nicholas Petit-Frere of the Tennessee Titans — were suspended through all or parts of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games. The NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter in 2024 for placing bets on himself during games. In 2025 at the college level, three basketball players, Steven Vasquez, Jalen Weaver and Mykell Robinson, had their eligibility permanently revoked by the NCAA.
When a player bets on a game, especially their own team, it hurts the foundation of sports. Fans start questioning every play, call and outcome. Referees, coaches and teammates are constantly under suspicion. What should be shared excitement turns into doubt and second-guessing, eroding trust in the game.
Betting doesn’t have to be all bad, but it’s worth remembering what’s at stake. These platforms are designed to grab your attention, keep you hooked and turn every moment into a financial decision. Sports are supposed to bring people together; betting culture pulls fans further into their own screens, chasing the next win instead of living in the moment.
Jack Davis (he/him) is a junior majoring in media with a sports concentration and pursuing a minor in folklore and ethnomusicology and a certificate in journalism.
