Majority of Americans fear that sports betting undermines game integrity

• A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll has gauged public attitude towards sports betting and how it impacts sports integrity
• A growing number of people are expressing a varying degree of concern about sports betting corrupting the game's integrity
• The recent scandals involving the NBA and MLB are further fueling such fears

Americans are growingly skeptical and mistrustful of how sports betting is affecting legitimate athletic contests, with a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey showing the general public increasingly associating the fairly newly-regulated activity with consistently bad outcomes for the integrity of the game.

Americans fear for sports integrity, but the opinions are nuanced

The poll posed a simple question, seeking to understand whether people thought that sports betting damages the integrity of the game, with 70% agreeing to some extent, although this number needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Out of these, 34% said that they "strongly agree," and another 36% argued that they "somewhat agree." Another question sought to gauge public perception about the expansion of sports gambling and whether that would "lead to games being fixed or rigged."

Once again, the percentage of people expressing concern was high - 29% said that they were indeed very concerned, whereas 34% were more moderate in their position, arguing that they were "somewhat concerned" instead.

A similar NBC News Decision Desk Poll was conducted in August, which sought to understand how many people were gambling and what they thought about people spending money on the activity. 66% of respondents interviewed back at the time said that people ought to be allowed to spend their money any which way they liked.

However, 34% said that sports betting should be "restricted" because it could have negative consequences, such as developing an addiction or pushing people into bankruptcy.

The most recent poll also tabulated the data by education level. For example, 82% of those with graduate degrees argued that sports gambling can indeed lessen the integrity of sports.

Integrity breaches at the highest level worry sports bettors, fans, general audience

Among those with a bachelor’s degree, the percentage fell to 77%, and another 71% with college experience responded similarly. However, among those with a high school education, the percentage dropped to 60%.

Overall, since the FBI probe into the NBA, and subsequent scandal in the MLB, sports fans have been worried that top-flight athletes may not be performing honestly to secure betting outcomes instead.

A survey reaffirming this fear was published in November this year, suggesting that Americans are increasingly worried about pro athletes fixing game results to secure betting outcomes.

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