Recent CivicScience survey results show that half of young adults (ages 21-29) bet on sports online, but most of them seem to be keeping their wagers modest.
First off, the amount of U.S. adults ages 21+ who bet on sports online has increased dramatically since our last check-in in August, from 14% to 18%. And that makes sense: the number of states where online betting is fully legal rose from 14 to 19 since then, according to USBets, with more states coming.
But the major takeaway from this survey? Of the 1,126 Americans ages 21 to 29 surveyed by CivicScience in December, more than half (53%) said they bet on sports online.
And perhaps just as surprisingly, women are equally as likely as men to use online sportsbooks.
Among those who bet online on sports, the most common wager sizes are “$10 to $25” and “less than $10.” However, nearly 30% of online bettors are regularly placing wagers of $50 or more, and more than 1 in 10 are wagering more than $250 on the average bet.
Unsurprisingly, those betting large sums of money online tend to be 1) relatively high-income bettors, and 2) relatively older gamblers – especially those in the 35-54 age range.
Interestingly, fantasy sports players were more likely to place medium-stakes bets ($10-$50) than others. Non-fantasy players were more likely to place both high-stakes bets (>$50) and low-stakes bets (<$10).
The App Race
When it comes to what sportsbook apps Americans ages 21+ are using to place their bets online, DraftKings is, well, the king – but could Caesars become the emperor? The Caesars Sportsbook app only recently launched in August 2021 and is already the second most-used sportsbook app in the US, according to CivicScience data.
While the number of online sports bettors continues to grow, most (54%) seem to be keeping their average wagers fairly modest at $25 or less. Meanwhile, there’s clearly room for new sportsbook operators to grow, as no single sportsbook app seems to be separating from the pack in a serious way and new contenders can carve out their own niche with ease. CivicScience will continue to keep tabs on this fast-growing industry in 2022.
