Bettors Turn to Gambling with Borrowed Money to Help Pay Bills, Survey Finds

While sports betting is frequently marketed as a form of entertainment, new research hints that a growing number of Americans are turning to wagers for something much more serious. Namely, to pay their bills. More Than Half Wanted to Pay Their Bills According to a new survey by US News, roughly 51% of Americans who placed a sports bet in the past year did it to help pay household bills. Another 21% said they wagered in an attempt to cover their rent or a mortgage. The survey included 1,200 Americans who had placed at least one sports bet during the previous 12 months. Frequent betting was common among those surveyed, with 57% saying they bet on sports on a weekly basis and 17% doing it daily. Even more, nearly one in five respondents, or 19%, said they currently have sports betting debt. The financial pressure appears particularly pronounced among daily bettors. US News found that 40% of people who bet every day said they had debts they attributed to their sports wagers. 45% Borrowed the Money Borrowing money to gamble was also widespread. Nearly half of respondents, 45%, said they had borrowed money to place sports bets. That included 13% who took out a personal loan and 11% who used a high-interest payday loan to fund their betting. However, many bettors did not agree that gambling was hurting their finances, with only 17% saying that sports betting was negatively impacting their financial health. By comparison, 34% said gambling had a positive impact, while roughly half reported no meaningful effect either way. They Risked the Kids’ Gifts Some survey respondents spoke about even more serious consequences, with one telling researchers that they lost money intended for their children’s Christmas presents through betting, leading to additional stress at home and the need to borrow money from relatives. Another said sports betting put an end to a six-year friendship after they were unable to repay money borrowed from a friend. The findings come as Americans continue to wager huge amounts on sports. According to the American Gaming Association, legal US sportsbooks handled nearly $167 billion in sports bets during 2025, an 11% increase from the previous year. The line between gambling and financial speculation is also becoming less clear with the growth of sports prediction markets. US News found that more than 40% of sports bettors surveyed were participating in these markets. Separate research from Stanford University found that sports bettors tend to be overly optimistic about their results. The study concluded that bettors expect to break even despite losing an average of 7.5 cents for every dollar wagered. The researchers found that overoptimism was particularly pronounced among parlay bettors, whose wagers combine multiple outcomes into a single bet. Financial advisers generally recommend treating sports betting as entertainment rather than a way to generate income, and only wagering money that can be lost without affecting essential expenses.