Normalization of betting is transforming U.S. sports fandom

Key Points

• The repeal of PASPA in 2018 opened the door for states to legalize sports betting, leading to widespread industry growth and increased number of U.S. bettors.
  
  

• Major sports leagues and broadcasters quickly embraced betting, integrating it into programming and forming lucrative partnerships with sportsbooks.
  
  

• Betting content has become a core part of sports media, with odds displayed during games, studio shows dedicated to betting and national advertising campaigns.
  
  

• The normalization of sports betting has transformed fan engagement, at times making the fan experience feel transactional and betting-centric, rather than the traditional pure fandom of rooting for favorite players and teams.

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For decades, sports betting in the U.S. was largely confined to Nevada, due to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992. This changed in 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, allowing states to regulate sports betting. The response was immediate – professional leagues, some of which had strongly distanced themselves from gambling before that, started forging multimillion-dollar partnerships with sportsbooks.

Soon, major networks like ESPN, NBC, FOX and CBS integrated betting into their broadcasts. Odds, point spreads and betting picks became a regular part of pregame analysis and even in-game commentary. Leagues and media companies, recognizing the revenue potential, quickly embraced sports betting in many new ways, some of which have reshaped how millions of fans engage with sports in the U.S.

How sports betting became normalized for U.S. sports fans

Commercials and Advertisements 

The explosion of legal sports betting led to an advertising arms race among sportsbooks. Companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars poured billions into marketing, ensuring their brands were omnipresent during sporting events.

FanDuel alone spent over $1 billion annually on marketing in 2023, a level that has helped them become the #1 sportsbook in the United States (by a narrow margin over DraftKings). In terms of TV commercials specifically, sports betting companies spent over $430 million nationally last year. These television ads, often featuring celebrity spokespeople, reinforce the idea that betting enhances the sports-viewing experience. The FanDuel Sportsbook tagline “make every moment more” speaks directly to that idea – by betting on outcomes within the game, you’ll care more about it and experience more excitement throughout. 

There has already been discussion in some states around limiting gambling advertising, which has reached a point where many feel inundated with betting commercials. In the UK, a much more mature betting market, there are significant restrictions in place nowadays, including a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on betting ads during games. 

Betting integrations in studio shows and during games 

Beyond traditional commercials, sportsbooks have also secured sponsorship deals for dedicated betting segments and integrations within broadcasts. In picks-focused portions of shows – with names like the “BetMGM Breakdown,” “DraftKings Three Play” or the “Monday Playbook presented by ESPN Bet” – analysts offer predictions of what will happen in the game, often connected to either the final result or specific players’ performances. At times, those picks are combined together to form a “parlay,” as the sportsbooks paying for the segments would always prefer that bettors unwisely place parlays instead of single bets. 

It’s also worth noting that some analysts are not fully comfortable with this new world of sports betting going mainstream and personally being attached to it. Some pundits have expressed their discomfort with it, while others have outright refused to take part in betting-related segments. Whether their stances are based on moral, religious or other personal values-based reasoning, their discomfort with it can be understandable, especially having now seen the impacts on sports fandom and American society as a whole. 

One notable example that got attention was when Jason Kelce was asked to predict how many touchdowns Rams QB Matthew Stafford would throw in the upcoming game. Kelce replied unenthusiastically, “I’ve got 2+ because they told me to.” It was unclear who the “they” referred to, but most assumed it was the production team, who needed picks from the analysts to build the elements of the segment, including the accompanying graphics. If viewers are being encouraged to follow the picks of the “experts,” it was concerning that an analyst’s picks were clearly not their own. In a video clip of the segment posted by Awful Announcing on Twitter, the two top most-liked comments are “I miss the days where gambling wasn’t consistently shoved down our throats” and “Ha. Always bet against what folks being sponsored by betting sites tell you.”

During the broadcasts of some sports, betting has also become a focus of the commentary and on-screen graphics during games, with announcers referencing spreads, player props and live odds. Some leagues have seen in-game betting integrations as a step too far, as it can impact the fan experience for those who’d prefer betting-free viewing. However, sportsbooks are willing to pay more for them, mostly because audiences are larger during games than in pregame shows, and therefore it’s become hard for leagues to turn down the revenue by maintaining a strong stance against it. 

Some leagues have also created betting-focused alternative telecasts of their live events, so that the segment of their audience that wants to hear sports gambling-focused conversations and see odds-centric graphics can get that without it encroaching on the viewing experience of the fans who prefer it without betting. 

Gambling partnerships and licensing deals

Another sign of sports betting normalization has been the full embrace by professional leagues after PASPA’s repeal in 2018. These partnerships typically consist of licensed use of official league logos/marks, IP and data. Sportsbooks naturally earn additional name-brand recognition and official data to use in live betting and prop betting, while sports leagues receive additional revenue from the license fees they charge for the use of their official data and branding.

The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL all have official betting partners, marking a stark contrast from some of their past oppositions to gambling. It’s worth noting that NBA commissioner Adam Silver was actually a vocal proponent of legalizing and regulating sports betting, with a main piece of his argument being that it’s happening anyway through unregulated black-market platforms, so it’s worth bringing that activity into the light where it can be more easily and effectively monitored.  

Teams have also integrated sports betting into some of their venues. The Washington Nationals operate a sportsbook inside their stadium, while other teams have betting lounges on-site. One of the most stunning examples of the leagues’ buy-in has been the recent introduction of league-branded casino games, including league-approved NFL-themed slot machines that debuted in 2023 and feature NFL and team logos on the spinning reels. 

Impacts of betting normalization on sports fans

Betting as a standard, expected part of watching sports

As sports betting has become more widely accepted and accessible, many fans feel that having “action” on a game is necessary to fully enjoy it. Instead of watching as a neutral observer or passionate supporter, many now find their rooting interest through betting, making financial stakes a central part of fandom.

As John Oliver noted in his sports betting-focused monologue on “Last Week Tonight” this past weekend, “sports betting can completely change your relationship to the sport that you are watching.” 

Birches Health supports multiple organizations that include college students, and we have heard firsthand that many of them no longer watch sports without having bets on the games. Putting in a bet (or often multiple bets) before the game begins, or a live in-game wager during it, has become a standard part of their experience of consuming sports. 

One student said that if they enter any new place with a game on the TV, their first move is to take their phone out and place a bet on it, usually without doing any research that would make it a well-informed prediction. They knew that they’d be watching the game anyway and with that felt a need to have action on it to enjoy the viewing experience. 

Others stated that the main reason why they watch games nowadays is because they placed a bet on them beforehand and wanted to see if their pick(s) would win. 

Many also wanted to call out how commonplace sports betting is now on college campuses, with multiple students saying that “almost all” of their friends bet on sports regularly. While these insights were anecdotal and certainly wouldn’t be featured in peer-reviewed research journals, they were eye-opening (and quite concerning) nonetheless. 

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It was also clear that they didn’t see much wrong with this new normal for them: if a game is on, they bet on it. But aside from immediate concerns about the potential for them developing a gambling addiction, it was illuminating how their lives as sports fans and viewers had transformed into a transactional relationship, with each game being seen as a chance to win bets and turn a profit. 

Professional and college athletes have also noticed this change in some fans…

New fan-player relationship dynamics

Historically, fans cheered and rooted for their favorite teams and players. Today, the rooting interests of many often revolve around their bets. With that, there has been a spike in betting-related abuse and comments directed at players. It has become such an issue in college athletics nowadays that monitoring and reporting systems have been put in place, the latter for student-athletes to report online abuse that they receive to the companies managing the services, who then can elevate the issues to the social platforms and in severe cases even local or federal authorities. 

Pro players are also hearing it from bettors regularly nowadays. NBA star Tyrese Haliburton once shared on the Pat McAfee Show, “If I were to look at my mentions right now, I'm sure the majority of them are about me f***ing up somebody's parlay… If I have a good game, it's just like ‘Yeah, you're supposed to.’ If you have a bad game, it's like, ‘Why’d you f*** up my parlay?’ It's like, ‘I'm sorry.’”

Players and coaches have received death threats and all other kinds of abuse from bettors. In a December 2024 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “America's High-Stakes Bet on Legalized Sports Gambling,” a lot of the conversation was focused on athlete abuse connected to sports betting. An NCAA study conducted two months earlier had found thousands of abusive messages directed at student-athletes, with at least 12% related to sports betting. As betting markets increased, so did abuse prevalence, with 19% rates in men's basketball and football.

Social and Cultural Shifts

Terms like “parlay,” “spread” and “bad beat” have become everyday language in the sports world, even for casual fans. Betting has also pervaded social media, with users sharing their wins, losses and tips in real-time. The constant exposure to gambling content raises ethical questions, such as its influence on younger viewers.

In response, YouTube has implemented new restrictions on promoting unregulated or illegal online gambling platforms, along with the prohibition of content that makes misleading promises of guaranteed gambling profits.

Gambling addiction support and treatment

With sports betting becoming a widespread part of sports culture, the risks of problem gambling have also increased, especially among young people. Many fans, drawn in by constant marketing and ease of mobile betting at times find themselves risking more than they can afford to lose. And after hearing about the volume of bets being placed regularly on college campuses, it is scary to think about how many of those young individuals are gambling in unhealthy, unsustainable manners. 

If you or someone you know may be struggling with a gambling problem, Birches Health offers expert support and treatment. Birches provides streamlined access to personalized counseling and care options, all with specially trained and certified clinicians. Sessions are conducted virtually in a discreet, confidential setting and are often covered by insurance. 

Birches Health offers the following ways to get started:

• Book an appointment

• Call 833-483-3838

• Email help@bircheshealth.com