American Gaming Association Estimates Less NFL Betting in 2020

• AGA survey says 5 million fewer Americans plan to bet on the NFL during this season due to COVID-19 related factors and political activism in the league.
• Out of the number of adults planning to bet, a higher number of bettors are planning to wager through overseas-based books despite the growing legal sports betting market.

NEW YORK – According to a national survey by the American Gaming Association, it shows that an estimated 13 percent or 33.2 million American adults are planning to bet on NFL games this season.

This projection is 5 million fewer Americans than last year despite the increase in legal sportsbooks around the country.

The survey explains the drop by citing that 42 percent of adults are less enthusiastic about the season. These adults who reported the factors affecting this raised concerns over political activism in the league, COVID-19 protocols such as fanless games, and not having the opportunity to gather to watch games with friends.

Aside from the general fans, it seems that more than half of sports bettors are in fact excited for the start of the NFL season. The survey says 54 percent of those that place wagers on sports are looking forward to the season.

“The NFL traditionally drives a significant amount of action from sports bettors, and this year appears to be no different,” said Bill Miller, AGA President and CEO. “While we’ve known for a long time that bettors are more engaged fans — particularly when it comes to football — continuing to drive them to the legal market is essential for protecting consumers and the integrity of the games they wager on.”

Out of the 33.2 million adults that plan to bet on the NFL this season, 34 percent (11.3 million) will bet through online application and that includes both state-regulated and international platforms.

With legal sports betting is on the rise in the country and over a third of the US is offering legal ways to bet on sports, it would be assumed that more bettors would be using regulated sportsbooks. On the contrary, the AGA survey estimates that 6 million Americans will bet with a bookie which is up from 4.6 million last year.

“The NFL and its teams must continue to prioritize and act on the shared responsibility to educate customers on regulated markets and responsible gaming principles in order to realize the full benefit of legal sports betting,” said Miller.

There have been NFL teams working to create partnerships with regulated sportsbooks to promote the legal sports betting market.

Though this season is predicted to have a lower amount of people engaged in NFL betting because of the many different factors affecting the country, there is still an increase in availability and popularity in US legal sports betting market.

News tags: American Gaming Association | Bill Miller | COVID-19 | NFL