Fewer Americans are "expected to bet on the NFL this year, as 42 percent of American adults say they are less excited about the upcoming season," according to Bailey Schulz of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. According to an August survey from the American Gaming Association, about 33.2 million Americans -- roughly 13% of U.S. adults -- are "expected to bet on this year’s season, compared with the nearly 40 million, or 15 percent of adults, who wagered on the 2019-20 season." The online survey was conducted Aug. 24-27 among a national sample of 2,200 American adults. The decline "fits within the survey’s margin of error but comes as 29 million more American adults have access to legal sports betting in their home state, 54 percent more than at the start of last season." Four in 10 American adults "say their excitement over the NFL season has dimmed for various reasons." About 36% of those surveyed "said increased political activism around the league has caused lower enthusiasm." Nineteen percent "cite the absence of fans in stadiums, and another 17 percent blame the inability to gather with friends to watch games" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 9/10).
SOME PEOPLE ARE PLACING BETS: CNBC’s Contessa Brewer noted new figures from the AGA show sports betting revenue grew 19% during the first seven months of the year despite there being "no sports for almost all of the second quarter.” FanDuel CEO Matt King acknowledged the addition of new states adopting legalized sports betting has been a "huge boon to the industry" and said, "We’re really excited about what the second half of the year holds.” King said the company expects to see over 100% growth "over the balance of the year." King: "If you look at our business across everything, we were up more than 50% in the first half even with no sports. So we’re super excited about how our business is performing” (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 9/9).
