51% of U.S. sports bettors use winnings to pay bills, U.S. News survey finds

U.S. News surveyed 1,200 people and found that sports betting has stopped being just entertainment for a large slice of bettors: 51% said they use it to cover everyday expenses. For PSPs and operators, that is the part that matters, because “fun money” behavior starts to look a lot like debt-funded cash flow management.

1. The U.S. News survey was conducted between Tuesday (31/8) and Friday (3/9) of 2026 and found that 51% of respondents bet to pay bills. The same study also said 45% have already borrowed money to gamble and 22% worry about losing control over their gambling behavior.
2. When respondents were asked how they use winnings, more than 20% said they use them to cover rent or mortgage payments. Another 18% said they use betting money to pay credit card debt, and 18% use it for unexpected expenses. More than 5% said they use it to pay student loans, while 2% use it for course fees.
3. Debt is already part of the picture: about 20% of participants said they had outstanding gambling-related debts, down from 30% in the previous survey. U.S. News said those debts were below US$ 1.000. At the same time, 45% said they had borrowed money to bet, including 23% who used cash advances on credit cards, 21% who borrowed from friends, 13% who used personal loans, and 11% who turned to short-term high-interest loans.
4. The spending profile is not tiny-pocket change either. Half of respondents said their average bet is under US$ 25, but among bettors with annual incomes of at least six figures, 61% bet weekly and spend at least US$ 25 per entry. Overall, 57% of participants said they bet every week, roughly in line with the previous study.
5. Financial impact is split, which is a polite way of saying the activity is doing different things to different balance sheets. Seventeen percent said betting hurts their personal finances, 34% said it helps them financially, and the rest said they see no impact. Several respondents also reported strain in relationships and other knock-on effects, though the text cuts off before listing them in full.

Brazil shows a similar pattern. A Datafolha survey of 2.002 people in 117 municipalities, conducted on 8 and 9 April, found that among users of online betting and casino platforms in Brazil, 46% said they bet to generate extra income to help pay bills. Five percent of all respondents said they had already bet for that purpose.