When you turn on any sports broadcast, it’s almost impossible to escape the numbers sliding past on the bottom of the screen. I’m not talking about the scores. I’m talking about betting odds.
Sports betting was once a centralized hobby in Las Vegas, but has now become a common occurrence in today’s sports environment. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel have paved the way, but ESPN Bet is the clearest signal that betting has become a core part of sports culture.
ESPN Bet launched in 2023 with big expectations. With ESPN’s digital footprint, its creation became a hit in the sports community. Its launch has made sports betting more accessible even to less passionate sports fans. However, this normalization has its own list of consequences.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 43% of U.S. adults found sports betting as harmful to society. This is an increase from the same study in 2022, where only 34% saw it as dangerous. This suggests that there is concern about the increased airtime of sports betting companies. These commercials run constantly during games, and their odds are forced into game previews. Sports are becoming more about the wager rather than the excitement.
Local health officials have taken note of the growing issue. Dr. Rolando Gonzalez of Lee Health compared sports gambling to addictive behaviors like drugs and alcohol.
“The excitement of gambling and the chance of a big win can stimulate the brain’s reward system, much like drugs and alcohol, which can cause addictive behavior,” Gonzalez said.”
On the college level, studies from Psychology of Addictive Behavior have shown that 88% of students have tried gambling, with nearly 9% of them in problematic levels. Among other populations, college students are the most susceptible to gambling, mainly due to the cell phone age.
With sports betting becoming more accessible, its integration into sports coverage has changed the way we talk about games. It’s no longer about the results. Rather, it’s about who covers more stats, which players reach their predicted stats for the night, or how a last-second play changes the odds. Networks like ESPN now regularly include betting lines and predictions on their websites, and even go as far as dedicating entire show segments to betting.
That shift might seem harmless at first, but it subtly changes the culture of fans. Instead of connecting over a team, fans are encouraged to think in terms of reward and risk. For younger sports fans, that constant exposure to betting can normalize addictive behaviors before they realize what is happening.
However, some positives come with sports betting. Since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting nationwide in 2018, 38 states have legalized it in some form. ESPN reported that revenue reached a record high last year, grossing nearly $14 billion. States use this revenue to fund better education, infrastructure and public services.
Sports betting introduces a series of advantages and disadvantages, but the cultural impact is growing. When every game is covered in odds, something essential about sports is lost. At the end of the day, the scoreboard should reflect who wins the game, not who wins the bet.
If you or anyone you know is dealing with a gambling addiction, call the National Problem Gambling helpline at 1-800-522-4700
