TransUnion's U.S. Betting Report for the third quarter of 2024 showed that while bettors were likely to have better credit scores than non-bettors, the former group was far likelier than the latter to either struggle to meet their financial obligations or be delinquent on bill payments.
“As we've found in prior reports, the majority of betting consumers can afford this form of entertainment,” Declan Raines, head of TransUnion's gaming business, said in a press release. “In fact, having a significant bump in income was the primary correlating factor to whether consumers bet, regardless of income level. This suggests most consumers only wager what they can well afford to lose.”
Yet according to TransUnion's survey of 3,000 U.S. adults age 18 or older, that statement comes with significant caveats. While bettors were more likely to report increases in income than non-bettors, the report was careful to note that these income increases could be due to obtaining a job after a period of unemployment, and that bettors were more likely than non-bettors to be in a period of financial transition.
“As such, the volatility among bettors can manifest in poorer financial management relative to the non-betting population,” TransUnion's report read.
To that end, 44% of online bettors who wager $500 or more per month said they wouldn't be able to meet all their financial obligations in full, while 49% reported being 90 days or more past due and another 54% said they'd been contacted by a collections agent within the past year. Non-bettors registered percentages of 24%, 18%, and 17% in these categories, respectively.
Findings Supported by New Academic Paper
TransUnion's report comes on the heels of a paper published by three college-based researchers in Southern California (one from UCLA and two from USC) which concluded that credit scores have fallen and bankruptcies have climbed in the 30-plus states that have launched legal sports betting since PASPA's repeal in 2018.
Additionally, the paper noted “a substantial increase in … debt collections, debt consolidation loans, and auto loan delinquencies” in states with legal sports betting, with young men in low-income communities experiencing “higher financial distress, with higher rates of bankruptcy, more usage of consolidation and unsecured loans, and more credit card delinquencies” than other demographics.
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The researchers also found that states which restrict sports betting to in-person wagering were less likely to experience such adversity than states that have legalized wagering through mobile betting apps.