A new poll shows that more than a quarter of Gen Z investors see gambling on sports as part of "their long-term financial strategy" — and more than half say they have bet on sports at least once in the last year with money originally set aside for investing.
The online survey of 1,000 U.S. retail investors, which was published Tuesday by the personal finance platform Betterment, underscores a dramatic cultural and generational shift.
Sports betting has become ubiquitous since 2018, the year the Supreme Court struck down a longstanding federal ban on the practice. In 2025 alone, Americans wagered far more on sports — roughly $166 billion — than the U.S. movie, music, book and museum industries generated in revenue combined, according to Fortune. Sports betting now rakes in 42 times more revenue ($17 billion) than it did in 2018 ($400 million), according to some estimates.
Yet no other age group is nearly as likely as Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2007) to view sports gambling as an investment — rather than, say, a form of entertainment.
According to the Betterment survey, just 14% of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), 6% of Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980) and 1% of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) have made sports betting a deliberate, ongoing part of their financial plans — compared with 26% of Gen Zers.
#investors #part
The online survey of 1,000 U.S. retail investors, which was published Tuesday by the personal finance platform Betterment, underscores a dramatic cultural and generational shift.
Sports betting has become ubiquitous since 2018, the year the Supreme Court struck down a longstanding federal ban on the practice. In 2025 alone, Americans wagered far more on sports — roughly $166 billion — than the U.S. movie, music, book and museum industries generated in revenue combined, according to Fortune. Sports betting now rakes in 42 times more revenue ($17 billion) than it did in 2018 ($400 million), according to some estimates.
Yet no other age group is nearly as likely as Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2007) to view sports gambling as an investment — rather than, say, a form of entertainment.
According to the Betterment survey, just 14% of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), 6% of Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980) and 1% of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) have made sports betting a deliberate, ongoing part of their financial plans — compared with 26% of Gen Zers.
#investors #part
4 days ago
